《玄经原旨发挥(杜道坚)》

Confucius once praised Laozi as “like a dragon,” and Zhuangzi honored him as the “Mystic Sage.” Throughout the ages, people have revered and followed his teachings, bestowing many titles upon him. In my research, Laozi lived for more than nine hundred years, from the end of the Shang through the Zhou dynasty. He passed through San Pass three times and served as an official historian four times. He wrote the two-part Mysterious Classic of the Dao and De. Using the transformations of Heaven and Earth, like the workings of a bellows, he explained the changes of the myriad things and discussed “mysterious sameness” and the relationship between being and nonbeing. This is truly a work about the Dao of Heaven and human affairs.

I once completed The Original Meaning of the Mysterious Classic. When I finished, I recalled having read a chronological account of Laozi’s life compiled by the worthy Gao of Guanfu. It was quite detailed, though many of the dates cited in it differed. I had long wanted to investigate these discrepancies but had not been able to do so. Now I have drawn on the Supreme Ultimate’s account of the yuan, hui, yun, and shi—units of time used to calculate historical chronology—and examined them in light of the central meaning of the classic. I have arranged my findings in twelve chapters. I do not aim to advance a new theory, but only to supplement what the histories have left unrecorded.

Confucius drew on the historical records of Lu to write the Spring and Autumn Annals, beginning with the reign of King Ping of Zhou. Shao Yong drew on the Classic of Changes of the Linked Mountains to compose the Book of Supreme Ultimate Ordering the World, beginning with the time of Emperor Yao. I wrote The Original Meaning on the basis of the Classic of the Dao and De and drew on ancient historical events to elaborate its meaning. For this reason, I have had to begin with the era before recorded history.

The purpose of this book is not only to examine the events of successive ages that have taken place since Heaven and Earth were formed, but also to infer the signs that had yet to appear before their formation. Later generations who aspire to investigate the origins of antiquity may use it as a guide.

On the second day after the Zhonghe Festival in the tenth year of Dade (1306), this preface was respectfully written by Du Daojian of Dangtu, a later-generation member of the religious tradition.

The Laozi, also known as the Daodejing, bears the name “Dao and De” to honor the way of emperors and esteem their virtue. To speak of Dao and De is also to include the achievements and power on which the kingly way and the way of the hegemon depend. I once read how Shao Yong, whose courtesy name was Kangjie, used the Laozi to explain the Huangji Jingshi. I therefore also draw on the principles of the Huangji Jingshi to elucidate the Laozi, for the two works express the same underlying idea.

Nothing under heaven is greater than principle. Laozi speaks of the Dao without directly speaking of principle, yet principle is already contained within it. Heaven and earth, past and present, rulers and subjects, common people and all things each have their own principle, Qi, image, and number; all arise from the Dao. The Huangji Jingshi connects the Dao and De, achievements, and power of the eras of emperors, kings, and hegemons, and it too depends on these four aspects: principle, Qi, image, and number.

Laozi says, “Within the realm there are four great things: the Dao is great, heaven is great, earth is great, and the ruler is also great.” My Elucidation of the Original Meaning comprises twelve chapters. The first six explain the Dao and De, achievements, and power of the eras of emperors, kings, and hegemons; the last six outline the events of Laozi’s birth, his transmission of the scripture, and his journey west. These matters, too, all depend on principle, Qi, image, and number, and all serve to clarify the Great Dao.

To speak of the “precelestial” is to speak of principle; to speak of the “primordial beginning” is to speak of Qi. The “bringing forth of things” can be explained through image, which also encompasses number. Once image and number are in place, the principles and order of human society arise. The sequence of development is this: first comes the Supreme One—the ancient age of rule through Wuwei (non-action)—followed by the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and then by the eras of kings and hegemons.

In the analogy of the four seasons, the Supreme One is like spring, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors like summer, and the eras of kings and hegemons like autumn. Winter is like the time after all things have withdrawn into concealment and before they begin to sprout anew. In the course of a day, this is like the passage from dawn to daylight and then to dusk; in the course of a human life, it is like the passage from childhood to adulthood and then to old age. Since the cyclical forces of each era differ, so too does the length of each age. Readers should examine this for themselves.

Chapter One: The Precelestial

“Before Heaven” refers to the Dao that exists prior to Heaven and Earth. It is empty and spontaneous, without limit or form. Laozi’s words, “The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth,” and “The Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two,” both describe the Dao before Heaven. This Dao can only be apprehended inwardly; it cannot be sought through words or concrete images.

The Book of Changes says, “Change has the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji), which gives rise to the Two Forms.” Here, “Change” refers to Great Change, that is, the Dao, the Limitless. “Change has the Supreme Ultimate” corresponds to “The Dao gives birth to One,” while “One gives birth to Two” corresponds to the Supreme Ultimate giving rise to the Yin-Yang Two Forms. Zhou Dunyi said, “The Supreme Ultimate is, in its original nature, the Limitless.” The “Commentary on the Words of the Text” says that when one acts before Heaven, Heaven does not oppose one; afterward, one acts in accordance with Heaven’s timing. This describes the relationship between the Dao before Heaven and the timing of Heaven.

The discussion above concerns the Dao before Heaven. Views on this are not uniform: since there is a before, there must also be an after; where there is a before and an after, there must also be an intermediate stage. Some passages in the classics treat the Supreme Ultimate as the dividing line: what precedes it is before Heaven, and what follows it is after Heaven. This is speaking from the perspective of the Dao. Calling the trigrams drawn by Fuxi “before Heaven” and those rearranged by King Wen “after Heaven” speaks from the perspective of the trigram images. Calling the first six periods within one great cycle “before Heaven” and the last six “after Heaven” speaks from the perspective of changes in the cycles of the world.

Everything under Heaven has its own Dao before Heaven. To speak of what is before Heaven is also to imply what is after Heaven. In human beings, this includes the state before emotions arise, as well as the state before life is born. In the case of Heaven and Earth, it includes the state before they were divided. All these belong to what is before Heaven. Does “before Heaven” ultimately mean the Dao itself? Or does it refer to a state that exists but cannot be described?

“Primordial Beginning” is the start of a cycle of primordial Qi. Laozi says that something undivided and whole existed before Heaven and Earth took shape. All things under Heaven have a beginning, which may be called their root. To know the origin of antiquity is to grasp the guiding principles of the Dao. The Book of Changes says, “Great indeed is the Origin of Qian; all things depend on it to begin.” The Origin of Qian is the power that initiates all things and enables them to unfold.

Liezi says that before Heaven and Earth took shape, there was nothing. But where did Heaven and Earth come from? The ancients therefore proposed four stages: Great Change, Great Inception, Great Beginning, and Great Simplicity. Together with the Supreme Ultimate, these are known as the Five Greats. Liezi mentions the four stages but not the Supreme Ultimate; yet his description of a state in which the Qi, form, and substance of all things were present, while remaining merged and undivided, already contains the Supreme Ultimate. There must also have been a divine intelligence governing this state. In the Book of Changes, “spirit” refers to the wondrous transformation that brings all things into being, while “Emperor” refers to the being that governs all things. This is the Primordial Beginning.

When the state holds solemn sacrifices and prays to Heaven for blessings and a mandate, it must observe purification to express reverence. This practice, too, has ancient roots. Yao said to Shun, “The count of Heaven’s mandate has fallen upon you; faithfully uphold the Way of the Mean.” For this reason, people often use calendars and numerical principles to explain the Way of Heaven. Although the records in different works vary, Shao Yong’s Supreme Principles Governing the World is the most worthy of emulation. Shao Yong took the Book of Changes and Laozi’s teachings as his foundation, consulted the Canon of Yao on “reverently following vast Heaven and calculating the movements of the sun, moon, and stars,” and examined the virtue, achievements, and power of rulers through the ages to compose this work.

Supreme Principles Governing the World uses “yuan, hui, yun, and shi” as units of time, with “sun, moon, stars, and celestial bodies” as their corresponding names. Its system of calculation is as follows: one yuan contains twelve hui; one hui contains thirty yun; one yun contains twelve shi; and one shi contains thirty years. One year contains twelve months; one month contains thirty days; one day contains twelve double-hours; one double-hour contains thirty divisions; and one division contains twelve seconds.

The Book of Changes takes Heaven and Earth as its standard, and Supreme Principles Governing the World in turn takes the Book of Changes as its standard. Although the Book of Changes does not directly discuss calendrical numbers, it says that one must exhaust numerical principles in order to determine the forms of all things under Heaven. Calendrical numbers are already implicit in this teaching. Supreme Principles Governing the World uses the numbers twelve and thirty: one yuan corresponds to one year, one hui to one month, one yun to one day, and one shi to one double-hour. Thus, one shi is thirty years; one yun is twelve shi, or 360 years; one hui is thirty yun, or 10,800 years; and one yuan is twelve hui, or 129,600 years. When Heaven, Earth, and all things pass through a yuan cycle, they reach its end. The book preserves but does not discuss units of time longer than a yuan or shorter than a second.

The key is to match the twelve hui with the twelve months and also with the twelve earthly branches. The Qi of Heaven and Earth begins at the hour of Zi and ends at the hour of Hai: the first hui corresponds to Zi, the second to Chou, and so on, until the twelfth hui ends at Hai. After ending, the cycle begins again, so one yuan is followed by another. This is the cycle of the Dao: it begins with no beginning and ends with no end. Understanding this allows one to move in harmony with the transformations of creation and to experience the center of the cycles through which all things change.

The first assembly of the Yuan Jing begins with “Great Change” (Taiyi).

In the time of Great Change, the calendrical numbers for the sun, moon, stars, and celestial bodies were, respectively, Jia one, Zi one, Jia one, and Zi one. At this time, Qi had not yet appeared. In the first year of Great Change, the year, month, day, and hour all began with Jiazi. After five thousand four hundred years, “Great Inception” (Taichu) appeared.

In the time of Great Inception, the sun was Jia one, the moon Zi one, the stars Ji sixteen, and the celestial bodies Zi one hundred eighty-one. At this time, primordial Qi began to sprout. After a further five thousand four hundred years, the total reached ten thousand eight hundred years, which was called one assembly. On the grand scale, this corresponded to the Zi month of the year; on the small scale, to the Zi hour of the day. When the Limitless before Heaven and the primordial ancestral Qi reached a state of utmost stillness, movement began and produced one Yang. Shao Kangjie once said, “Winter Solstice falls in the middle of the Zi month; the movement of Heaven’s heart has never changed. When one Yang has just stirred, the myriad things have not yet been born.” This is precisely the principle being described.

The second assembly of the Yuan Jing includes “Great Beginning” (Taishi) and “Great Form” (Taisu).

In the time of Great Beginning, the sun was Jia one, the moon Chou two, the stars Jia thirty-one, and the celestial bodies Zi three hundred sixty-one. At this time, Qi and form began to take shape. After five thousand four hundred years, “Great Form” appeared.

In the time of Great Form, the sun was Jia one, the moon Chou two, the stars Ji forty-six, and the celestial bodies Zi five hundred forty-one. At this time, forms changed and began to acquire substance. After a further five thousand four hundred years, the total reached twenty-one thousand six hundred years, which was called the second assembly. It corresponded to the Chou month of the year and the Chou hour of the day. Here, indistinct, elusive forms and the profound, unfathomable true essence mingled in a mysterious way, giving rise to two Yang.

The third assembly of the Yuan Jing sees the appearance of “Supreme Ultimate” (Taiji).

Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate, the primordial state before the myriad things of the cosmos had differentiated) corresponds to Jia among the Heavenly Stems, the Yin month in the calendar, Jia among the Three Stars, and Zi among the sixty-one time periods, as well as the seven hundred and twenty-first Taiji. At this time, all things are blended into one and have not yet separated from one another.

Taiji exists in the stage before chaos has divided and Heaven and Earth have opened. It runs through the formation of Qi, temperament, and form; fills Heaven and Earth; connects past and present; and is the fundamental principle beyond which the workings of Heaven and Earth can never extend. After five thousand four hundred years, chaos begins to divide, and Yin-Yang thereby comes into being.

This opening corresponds to the Yin month of the year, the half-month following the new moon (the first day) of each month, and the Yin hour of the day, specifically the first four quarters of that hour. At this time, Qian and Kun (Heaven and Earth) take shape: Heaven is clear and Earth is settled. The three Yang energies meet in harmony, and the myriad things begin to stir.

This is the beginning of a Yuan. Passing through the Five Greater Stages in sequence takes two and a half hui, a total of twenty-seven thousand years. Shao Yong says that at the beginning of a Yuan, the sun is assigned to Jia and the moon to Zi. The Five Greater Stages are phases before Heaven and Earth have appeared. I also call them “years,” because principle, Qi, images, and numbers are all already contained in a state in which nothing has yet come to pass. This is probably also the principle of the Changes before Fuxi drew the trigrams.

Laozi says, “The myriad things under Heaven are born from being; being is born from nonbeing.” The numbers in the Huangji Jingshi begin counting from before Heaven and Earth were opened, that is, two and a half hui earlier; the count ends only after one and a half hui, when Heaven and Earth are closed off and the myriad things return to storage. The three hui of Hai, Zi, and Chou are like the winter nights of a year. To say there is something within them is to say that Heaven and Earth are dark and profound, with all things lying concealed. To say there is nothing within them is to say that, in the depths of their obscurity, the myriad things are nonetheless never absent. Thus, it is said to begin before Heaven and Earth and end after them; after its ending, it changes and opens into free passage.

Since the twelve hui—the twelve periods within a Yuan—cycle and repeat, why is each Yuan said to begin with Jia? After Jia comes Yi, after Yi comes Bing, and so on without end; even those skilled in calculation cannot exhaust the sequence. When Shao Kangjie wrote his book, he had to begin the Yuan he described with Jia. But how can we know whether there had already been a Yuan that began again after the sequence from Jia through Gui? I once said, “The Heaven and Earth of today are the Heaven and Earth of yesterday; the Heaven and Earth of tomorrow are also the Heaven and Earth of today.” Understand this, and you can infer the principles set out in Shao Kangjie’s book.

Chapter Three: Opening Things

“Opening Things” refers to the opening of Heaven and Earth, from which the myriad things came into being. The Yijing says, “Once Heaven and Earth existed, the myriad things could grow.” Laozi says, “The Dao gives rise to the myriad things; De nurtures them. The myriad things take on concrete forms and then fulfill themselves according to their own tendencies.” At the beginning of creation, the myriad things of Heaven and Earth formed through the differentiation of Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate), and the substance through which they took shape also emerged.

The Dao’s essential nature is called “numinous” in Heaven and “treasure” on Earth. Taken together, Heaven and Earth are called “Numinous Treasure.”

“Opening Things Day: jia, first month, yin, three stars, ji, seventy-six, chen, zi, nine hundred and one” uses the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, lunar mansions, and numbers to mark the chronology of the beginning of creation. This beginning corresponds to the jiazi cycle of the Origin, the bingyin cycle of the Assembly, the jimao cycle of the Fortune, the jiazi cycle of the Age, and the jiazi year. At this time, Heaven and Earth each settled into their proper place. Heaven was dark and mysterious, and Earth was yellow-brown. The Qi of the Mysterious Origin and Beginning was already complete; the three Qi blended into one, and the Primordial Chaos Being came into existence.

According to the Book of Calendars, the Primordial Chaos Being was also known as Pangu. Before Heaven and Earth had separated, they were in chaos, like an egg, with Pangu born inside. Pangu underwent nine transformations each day: the spirit-bright Qi rose to become Heaven, and the sacred-bright Qi descended to become Earth. Heaven rose one zhang each day, Earth grew thicker by one zhang each day, and Pangu grew one zhang taller each day. After ten thousand and eight hundred years, Heaven had risen to its greatest height, Earth had grown to its greatest depth, and Pangu had grown to his greatest height. When Pangu had grown halfway, the time corresponded to the fourth stage of the “Origin Scripture Assembly.”

“Fourth stage of the Origin Scripture Assembly” is the name of a period in this chronological system. The text then repeats that Earth had grown thicker and Pangu had grown taller; when Pangu had grown halfway, the time corresponded to the fourth stage of the Origin Scripture Assembly.

Pangu, the primordial ancestor said to have opened Heaven and Earth and brought forth the myriad things, corresponds in the reckoning of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches and the lunar lodges to “Day: Jia, one; Month: Mao, four; Star: Jia, nine-one; Constellation: Zi, one,” totaling 10,810 years. Laozi says, “When the spirit attains the One, it can manifest wondrous efficacy.” Perhaps Pangu was the earliest embodiment of this state.

According to the number of the “Supreme Ultimate” (Huangji), 10,800 years make one “cycle,” an ancient unit of time used to calculate the transformations of Heaven and Earth. During this span, the Qi of Heaven and Earth mingled and gave rise to the pure, harmonious myriad things, which possessed the complete substance of Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate). Pangu had the spiritual subtlety of a sage, yet had not manifested a particular form. At his birth he was numinous and lucid, reaching as high as Heaven and matching the thickness of Earth. He governed form and Qi, nurtured and illuminated the myriad things. After he died, his head became the Five Sacred Peaks, his eyes the sun and moon, his fat the rivers and seas, and his hair the plants and trees. Thus Pangu was the ancestor of all things.

Alas, the account of Pangu does seem rather far-fetched. I once read the Book of Changes and came across the words, “Heaven and Earth take their positions; mountains and marshes exchange Qi; thunder and wind stir one another; water and fire do not encroach upon one another.” It seemed to me that if one simply looked up and down at Heaven and Earth, Pangu could be found everywhere. This passage describes the relationships among Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things as represented by the Bagua (Eight Trigrams).

When Fuxi, the sage said to have first drawn the trigrams, made the trigrams, Qian symbolized Heaven and also the head, and belonged to the south; Kun symbolized Earth and also the abdomen, and belonged to the north. This is what it means for Heaven and Earth each to have its position. Gen symbolized mountains and also the nose, and belonged to the northwest; the Book of Changes Commentary of Master Mayi contains a related account. Dui symbolized marshes and also the mouth, and belonged to the southeast. This is what it means for the Qi of mountains and marshes to communicate. Zhen symbolized thunder and also the feet, and belonged to the northeast; Xun symbolized wind and also the hands, and belonged to the southwest. This is what it means for thunder and wind to stir one another. Kan symbolized water and also the ears, and belonged to the west; Li symbolized fire and also the eyes, and belonged to the east. This is what it means for water and fire to follow their separate courses without harming one another.

Taken together, the symbols of the Bagua show that the principles of the myriad things can all be embodied in the human person. That is why humans are called the most numinous of all beings. How could Pangu be far removed from us? Counting 10,800 years from the opening of Heaven and Earth, then adding the first three and a half cycles, gives a total of 37,800 years. After Pangu passed away, the first of the ancient emperors, the Heavenly Emperor, appeared.

It is said that Pangu divided himself and brought forth the myriad things. Laozi said, “When Heaven attained the One, it became clear; when Earth attained the One, it became tranquil; when spirits attained the One, they became efficacious; when valleys attained the One, they became full; when the myriad things attained the One, they were able to grow.” The Book of Changes says, “Heaven is high and Earth is low; thus the positions of Qian and Kun are established. High and low are arranged, and ranks of nobility and inferiority take shape. Movement and stillness each have their regular course; hardness and softness are thereby distinguished. Things gather according to their similar qualities and are sorted according to their different kinds; thus good fortune and misfortune arise. In Heaven, patterns take shape; on Earth, forms take shape; the transformations of the myriad things are thereby revealed.” From this, we can see that humanity is like one family, and that all things came into being alongside human beings, all arising from the primordial Qi that formed Pangu’s undivided unity.

Pangu belonged to the period “below the Third in the Yuanjing cycle and above the Fourth.” If we compare it to a day, it was roughly the transition from the Hour of the Tiger to the Hour of the Rabbit: dawn was near, but the sky was not yet fully light. The age of the Celestial Sovereigns, by contrast, was like the middle of the Hour of the Rabbit, when bright daylight rose in the east, all things grew together, and human society began to flourish.

After Chaos was opened and divided, Pangu died. The natural capacity for transformation through Yin-Yang is called “Taiyi” when possessed by the Dao, “Tianyi” when possessed by Heaven, and “Diyi” when possessed by the sovereign. The sun, moon, and stars then appeared; water, fire, earth, and stone took form, as did birds and beasts, grasses and trees. Wind, rain, dew, and thunder, along with the changing brightness and darkness of cold and heat, day and night, all appeared in turn and were clearly set out between Heaven and Earth.

According to the Daoist Canon, eras called “Longhan,” “Chiming,” and “Shanghuang” were used as celestial reign names at the beginning of the creation of all things. The Heavenly Treasure Lord, Numinous Treasure Lord, and Divine Treasure Lord are described in golden records as having “transformed into being”: they came into existence naturally, without gestation in a womb. This is like the words of the Book of Songs, “Heaven’s workings make no sound and leave no trace.” They are difficult to explain through thought or speech, and so are called “inconceivable.”

Some believe that Pangu opened Heaven and Earth and became the ancestor of all things, so that Heaven, Earth, and everything within them were formed from Pangu’s divisions. The author replies that this is not so. Before Pangu appeared, Heaven, Earth, and all things were already contained as formless images within an undivided whole. Only after Pangu appeared did they take on concrete forms.

We can understand this through our own experience: dream and waking, life and death, recur day after day. Though ancient and present times are far apart, their underlying principle is connected. From this, we can see that all things may be regarded equally, and life and death as one. Heaven and Earth are boundless, the myriad things are boundless, and “I” too am part of boundless transformation.

“The Most High” refers to ancient times. The highest rulers had no title; those of the next rank had titles; those below them displayed their titles to make themselves known. Laozi says, “The best ruler is one whom the people merely know to exist.” A ruler of the next rank is one whom the people feel close to and praise; the next is one whom they fear; and the lowest is one whom they hold in contempt. The Zuo Tradition says, “The highest achievement is to establish Virtue; next is to accomplish great deeds; after that is to leave behind one’s words.”

From the earliest Heavenly Emperor (an emperor in ancient legend) through the later age of kings and hegemons, whether rule was achieved through Wuwei or deliberate action, whether power was yielded or taken by force, and whether states flourished or fell and politics were orderly or chaotic—all can be seen in the different ways the people responded: with closeness, praise, fear, or contempt. Does this mean that, as the world declined, Virtue also steadily diminished?

According to works such as the Xiang, the Hui, and the Calendar, the era of the Three Sovereigns was divided into nine cycles, collectively called the “Nine Sovereigns.” This is like the way periods since the Xia, Shang, and Zhou have been called “ages” or “generations.” The first of the nine cycles was called the “Five Dragons Cycle,” the second the “Union of the Strong Cycle,” the third the “Shuming Cycle,” the fourth the “Linked Continuity Cycle,” and the fifth the “Five…”

After examining works such as the Xiang, the Hui, and the Calendar, we find that the Three Sovereigns and Nine Eras are collectively called the Nine Sovereigns. This is much like the way history has been recorded by “ages” or “dynasties” since the Three Dynasties of Xia, Shang, and Zhou. In sequence, the Nine Eras are the Five Dragons Era, the He Xiong Era, the Shu Ming Era, the Lian Tong Era, the Five Surnames Era, the Xiu Fei Era, the Yin Ti Era, the Chan Tong Era, and the Liu Qi Era.

The River Chart records lineages and surnames across seven eras, beginning with the He Xiong Era; it does not include the Five Dragons Era or the Liu Qi Era. Tradition says that in the earliest antiquity, as humanity first began to multiply, men and women joined together and had descendants. When a daughter was born, she took her mother’s surname. People of that time were said to have three heads and were called the He Xiong Era; this era lasted for three generations.

After the He Xiong clan died out, their descendants succeeded one another and recorded their respective lifespans. This period was called the Shu Ming Era. Later, four surnames appeared in succession, and their descendants multiplied for two generations. As the population grew, people settled and traveled among one another, so this period was called the Lian Tong Era. The people then multiplied for another generation. Together with the earlier lineages, there were now five surnames, and this period was called the Five Surnames Era.

People throughout the world lived in communities and formed close ties with those like themselves. As the population continued to grow, it divided into nine tribes, each occupying a different direction; this is why they were called the Ju Fang clan. Their descendants multiplied for thirty-two generations. The strong oppressed the weak, even seeking to devour and harm others. At that time, a divine being emerged and stepped forward to govern the people, and was therefore called the Ti Ting clan. The people then multiplied for another thirty-five generations. It is said that the lineage included seventy-two surnames, which is why they were called the Tong Xing clan.

Accounts of these eras differ considerably from one source to another. Yet at that time there were no written records, and no one could pass down the lineages or affairs of government from earlier generations. This does not mean that lineages and affairs of government did not exist; it means that written records had not yet appeared—so what could have been used to record them? Therefore, when tracing antiquity from the present, we cannot rely on imagination alone; and when examining the present from the standpoint of the past, we cannot do so without making records. For now, these differing accounts should all be preserved.

As for the movements of the stars in the heavens, and spirits issuing commands through thunder, these did not have to wait for human writing and ritual institutions to appear before becoming manifest. They had their own evident radiance. People looked up to observe the heavens and down to examine the myriad things, then took Heaven and Earth as their models and established ways of governance. This, perhaps, was where it all began.

The First of the Three Sovereigns.

The “Five Dragons” is the name of the “Five Surnames.” The Yuhuang Tongyi Li calls them the “Goulong Era.” The “Five Dragons Chapter” describes commands issued by ghosts and spirits through thunder. These commands are made manifest without waiting for them to be recorded in human writing. Thunder resounds powerfully between Heaven and Earth; by looking up to observe the celestial signs and down to examine the terrain, people took Heaven and Earth as their model and governed the myriad things. This is their foundation.

The First Three Sovereigns

The Celestial Sovereign was one of the first Three Sovereigns. The scripture records his era using methods based on the stems and branches, stars, and other signs: the sun was jia-one, the moon mao-four, the stars ji-one, and the hundred was chen-zi, one thousand two hundred and sixty-one. The Celestial Sovereign had twelve leaders. The Sanwu Li records that these twelve were called “heads.”

When the primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth first began to take shape, a divine being called the Celestial Sovereign became ruler of the first living beings and the people. He established the governing order and positions of Heaven and Earth, making their wondrous transformations limitless. This account appears in Xu Zheng’s Sanwu Liji.

When all things first came into being and humanity first appeared, people and animals emerged from the same Qi, and their forms were not yet clearly distinct. Thus, legend tells of beings with snake bodies and human heads, or human bodies and ox heads. The twenty-eight lunar mansions in the sky and the twelve palace spirits on Earth were also often named after birds and beasts. This is because animals and humans alike were born by receiving the star Qi of Heaven and the numinous Qi of Earth. For this reason, humans were also called “bearers of numinous power.”

From this we can understand that, in the age of the Celestial Sovereign, people acted without deliberate thought or effort, like infants not yet grown. They fed on primordial Qi, drank in harmonious Qi, embraced the Dao, and followed nature. Laozi said: “One whose De is profound is like a newborn infant: poisonous insects do not sting it, fierce beasts do not seize it, and birds of prey do not strike it.”

Legend has it that people of that time lived for more than a thousand years, with descendants succeeding one another through fifteen cycles, a total of five thousand four hundred years. After the age of the Celestial Sovereign ended, the Terrestrial Sovereign arose. This corresponds to the fifth stage of the “Meeting” described in the Yuan Jing.

The Fifth Meeting of the Yuan Jing

“He Xiong” is the name of the second era and refers to three surnames. The Chunqiu Wei calls it the “Hezhui Era,” the Chu Zhi Tiandi Jing calls it the “Hanxiong Era,” and the Tongjian Waiji calls it the “Sheti Era.”

The Earthly Sovereigns arose after the Heavenly Sovereigns. There were eleven of them. Their virtue followed the course of nature, and their achievements benefited Heaven and Earth. They established the ordered movements of the stars, divided day from night, harmonized Yin-Yang, and set the seasons of cold and heat in order. The four seasons then succeeded one another in turn; people multiplied, trees grew, and grasses sprouted. All kinds of creatures that lived in water or on land, and those that flew, as well as plants, grew and reproduced according to their own patterns.

From this, we can understand that people in the age of the Earthly Sovereigns were like infants already fully grown: they lived in peace, free from hunger and the hardships of forced labor. They breathed in the vapors of rosy clouds and consumed the fungus of immortality. Laozi said, “When spirit and body embrace as one, can they remain undivided? When you concentrate your vital energy and attain softness, can you be like an infant?” People of this time were said to live as long as a thousand years. Their descendants succeeded them generation after generation, and the age of the Earthly Sovereigns lasted half a “hui,” or 5,400 years. When it ended, the Human Sovereigns arose.

This era is called the “Shuming Era,” also known as “Shuming.” There are four different accounts of its name: the Scripture of Heaven and Earth calls it the “Houling Era,” the Comprehensive Calendar calls it the “Xuanming Era,” and the Outer Chronicle calls it the “Heluo Era.”

At the beginning was the era of the Human Sovereign clan. Its calendar recorded a Jiazi day, a Chen month, and a Ji-Chou year. It lasted for 136 Chen periods, or 1,621 years. The Human Sovereign clan had nine heads—that is, nine leaders. At that time, humankind gradually increased in number and grew like children. People’s inborn nature was shaped by external things, and private desires gradually arose. They wore leaves and spread grass for shelter, ate fruit and drank water, and young and old lived together in the open fields. Without sharp claws or teeth, they could not defend themselves against wild beasts; without distinctions between officials and common people, they could not restrain the powerful. The strong preyed on the weak, and ordinary people could not live in peace.

So the Human Sovereign clan divided the land into nine provinces according to the lay of its mountains and rivers. Each of the nine leaders settled in one province and ruled its region. The Human Sovereign lived in the center and governed the other eight regions, which is why this period was called the “Era of Nine Heads.” Laozi said, “When the Great Dao is upheld, all under Heaven will turn toward it; people will not harm one another, and the state will be secure, peaceful, and prosperous.” During this period, rule passed from father to son and continued for 5,400 years. After the first Human Sovereign clan died out, the Celestial Sovereign clan arose, in the sixth phase of the Yuanjing Cycle.

Legend says that the First Heavenly Sovereign succeeded Pangu and ruled all under Heaven. Together with the First Earthly Sovereign and the First Human Sovereign, the Three Sovereigns governed for one and a half hui, a total of 16,400 years. Including the years of the five hui before them, the total was 54,000 years.

The reigns of the Heavenly, Earthly, and Human Sovereigns should naturally have varied in length; they should not all have lasted exactly 5,400 years. But calculated by the “Imperial Pole,” the pattern is like that of days, which vary in length, while a month has no more than thirty days; or of months, some long and some short, while a year has no more than twelve months. Days, months, years, and seasons are smaller units of time; yuan, hui, yun, and shi are larger ones.

From this we can understand that when all things first came into being and the people first appeared, the original Qi of Heaven and Earth formed an undivided whole. People had no schemes or desires and, in the depths of primordial chaos, forgot one another. Their lives were long, and no harm passed among the myriad things. Thus Laozi said: “The sage handles affairs through Wuwei (non-action) and carries out teaching without words. The myriad things grow, and he does not interfere; he nurtures and brings them forth, yet does not claim them as his own; he acts, yet does not rely on his achievements.”

I have often reflected that later ages may possess the territory of the Three Sovereigns’ time, yet lack the people of that age. If a ruler could make the people as they were in the time of the Three Sovereigns, and let them live at peace on land like theirs, then the purpose behind Laozi’s writing would be more than empty talk.

The Middle Three Sovereigns

The Sixth Hui of the Yuan Era

The Fourth Annal of the Linked Continuum. The Linked Continuum comprises six surnames. Another edition reads “The Annal of the Linked and Distant.”

The Central Heaven Sovereign, one of the Three Sovereigns of high antiquity, bore the honorific title Taihuang. He ruled the world after the First Human Sovereign and ushered in the beginning of the Six Cycles. People at that time were like newborn children: they had few practical skills and could not yet adequately provide for their hunger. They gathered edible animals for food and lived quietly and peacefully, without other ambitions or conflict. Though rulers governed them, the people remained content with their established way of life.

Bo Yangfu said, “The two sovereigns of the most ancient times were rulers who had attained the Dao. Established at the center, they used their wondrous De to transform all things and nurture the four quarters. Thus they enabled Heaven to move and Earth to rest, keeping the workings of Heaven and Earth in ceaseless motion. They were like flowing water, unending, cycling back and forth together with all things.” This era passed through successive generations and lasted a total of 5,400 years. After the Central Heaven Sovereign died, the Central Earth Sovereign arose.

“Record of the Five Surnames,” fifth. The River Chart says that this era governed the five surnames.

The Central Earth Sovereign bore the honorific title Youchao, “the One with a Nest.” He ruled the world after Taihuang. At that time there were no roads through the mountains and no boats or bridges across the marshes. All things grew thickly together; birds and beasts gathered in herds, and plants flourished. People lived in the open, vulnerable to attacks from tigers, wolves, snakes, boars, and other beasts. Youchao taught them to build raised nests of timber to escape disasters such as rain and drought: in winter they lived in caves, and in summer in their nests, to cope with heat and cold and avoid disturbance from birds and insects. Only then could the people settle in safety. The nine tou—tribes or groups in ancient legend—throughout the world all submitted to and revered him. His descendants ruled in succession through five cycles, lasting about 1,800 years. After the Central Earth Sovereign died, the Central Human Sovereign arose.

“Record of the Shufei,” sixth. “Shubei” refers to the nine surnames. The River Chart calls this era the “Sovereigns of Settled Places,” while the Outer Annals calls it the “Record of Following Flight.”

During the reign of the Middle Sovereign, the recorded year was Jia One. The month was Si Six, and the records list 171 celestial bodies under Jia One and 2,041 earthly branches under Zi. The Human Sovereign was known as Suiren, and succeeded Youchao as ruler.

At that time, people lived in nests in trees or in caves, drinking raw blood and eating uncooked meat, plants, and fruit. This diet harmed their stomachs, and gradually some people began to die young. Suiren began teaching people to make fire by drilling wood and to cook their food. Cooked food was easier to eat, free of raw odors, and beneficial to the body and temperament. This practice followed the Dao of nature, and so he was called Suiren. Once the people throughout the realm had cooked food to eat, they were satisfied and at ease, moved calmly, and looked upon the world with composure. Yin and Yang were harmonized; ghosts and spirits did not come to trouble them; the four seasons each followed their proper course; nothing was harmed; living beings multiplied; and people no longer died young.

Laozi said, “When the world is governed by the Dao, ghosts and spirits cannot manifest their powers. This is not because ghosts and spirits have no numinous power at all, but because their power does not harm people. And it is not only ghosts and spirits who do not harm people: the sage, too, does not harm them. Since neither side harms the other, their Virtue meets and flows through the world.” Suiren’s line passed from generation to generation for a total of 1,310 years, after which the Heavenly Sovereign arose.

Commentary: The original text again quotes Laozi’s teaching that “ghosts and spirits do not harm people, and the sage does not harm them either; since neither side harms the other, their Virtue meets and flows through the world.” It goes on to say that customs were simple and unspoiled in the era of the Three Sovereigns. If a ruler had made no innovations or achieved anything significant, the people would not praise him. Youchao was named for teaching people to build homes in trees, and Suiren for teaching them to make fire by drilling wood; their titles came from their achievements. Later, their descendants also adopted these names as clan titles. Thus, among the feudal lords governed by Fuxi, there was still a Youchao clan; later, another ruler inherited the title and was called Dachaoshi. This shows that there was more than one person called Youchao.

The “Three and Five” refers to the era from the Three Sovereigns through the Five Emperors. Laozi says, “A person of highest De does not think of himself as possessing De, and so truly has De. A person of lesser De deliberately tries not to lose De, and so in fact has no De. The person of highest De follows nature, without contrivance; the person of lesser De acts with a definite purpose.” The Zuo Tradition says, “The highest achievement is to establish De.” This is precisely what is meant by highest De. Since highest De is above the Dao, it is called “the highest achievement is to establish De.” This account encompasses the eras of the Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors.

Zhuangzi says that people in the remote past lived in an age before the world had divided into parts. They dwelt among all things with calm and quiet minds; this is what is called “ultimate oneness,” in which all things were undivided. In those days, people did not act deliberately, and everything generally followed its natural course. Later, De gradually declined. When Suiren and Fuxi began to govern the world, people still followed nature, but could no longer preserve the purity and unity of De. Later still, De continued to decline. Shennong and the Yellow Emperor began to govern the world, and people were content with their circumstances, but could no longer follow De. In time, under Tang Yao and Yu Shun, governance and instruction arose. The simple and generous customs grew shallow, and people’s unadorned nature gradually faded. The ancient Dao thus changed.

Zhuangzi lived in an age when he could presumably still consult early historical records. His account of the sequence of eras from remote antiquity onward is therefore broadly similar to other accounts. The Three Sovereigns in between reigned for a total of 8,510 years; including the preceding era, the total comes to 62,510 years. After that, the Celestial Sovereign Fuxi arose.

The Later Three Sovereigns

The seventh era is called Yinti Ji. The River Chart records the name as “Titing Shi.”

The later Celestial Sovereign’s chronology is recorded as follows: the sun, jia, one; the moon, si, six; the stars, ding, one hundred seventy-four; and the celestial markers, wei, two thousand eighty-four. The later Celestial Sovereign was named Fuxi, and his clan name was Feng. His year count began with the Sheti cycle, starting in the jia-yin year; he was called Titing Shi.

The sovereign after Heaven was Fuxi of the Feng clan. His calendar began with the year Shetige, taking the Jia Yin year as its first year. He gained the realm through the power of Wood and established his capital at the ruins of Taihao. Fuxi taught people to domesticate livestock, which earned him the name “Fuxi” (“the one who tames animals”). He also smelted metal tools and taught people to cook food, so he was also called “Paoxi” (“the one who cooks”).

Fuxi observed Heaven and Earth and investigated things near and far. He drew the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), created writing and incised tally marks, and established the Jia calendar. He also tied knots to make nets for hunting and fishing, thereby beginning the work of sages who instructed the people. At that time, people lived together in communities, but the social order among ruler and subject, parent and child, and husband and wife had not yet been established. Fuxi’s virtue accorded with Heaven above and responded to Earth below. Following the two fundamental forces of Yin-Yang, he established the roles of ruler and subject, parent and child, and husband and wife, thereby bringing social order into being.

Fuxi received the Mandate of Heaven and became king. As the ancestor of the rulers of later generations, he was honored with the title “Heavenly Sovereign.” Taihao ruled for 116 years, then passed the throne to Nüwa, who in turn passed it to the Huaiwu clan. The succession lasted for fifteen generations and 1,307 years. Afterward, the Earth Sovereign, Shennong, arose.

On examination, Gonggong was one of Fuxi’s feudal lords. Later, the Zhurong clan rose to prominence. Shennong was also called the Flame Emperor. In the time of Emperor Yao, there was another person named Gonggong. Perhaps his descendants used the title or clan name Gonggong for generations.

The Chan Tong Ji is placed in the eighth era. “Chan Tong” encompasses seventy-two surnames; the River Chart calls it the “Era of Connected Surnames.”

The Earth Sovereign after Heaven was Shennong, also called the Flame Emperor. In the time of Emperor Yao, there was another person named Gonggong; perhaps his descendants used the title or clan name Gonggong for generations.

The Chan Tong Ji is placed in the eighth era. “Chan Tong” encompasses seventy-two surnames; the River Chart calls it the “Era of Connected Surnames.”

Here it records that the imperial lineage following the Earth Sovereign was known as the Shennong clan, with the surname Jiang. It rose to power in the xinchou year and ruled by virtue of Fire, with its capital in the land of Lu. In those days, people ate raw food and wild vegetables, often falling ill as a result, while the forces of Yin and Yang clashed with one another. Shennong personally tasted many plants and trees, making medicines to treat people’s illnesses. He also taught people to use the plow and hoe—tools for turning and cultivating the soil—to sow the five grains, so that the people would have food. He further set the market to open at midday, allowing people from different places to exchange what they had for what they lacked and making life easier for the people.

The feudal lord Shasu rebelled and refused to obey orders. Ji Wen remonstrated with Shennong and was killed for it. After Shennong cultivated his virtue, the people of Shasu attacked their own ruler and turned to follow Shennong. Shennong’s territory reached Jiaozhi in the south, Youdu in the north, Sanwei in the west, and Yanggu in the east. He ruled for 140 years. The throne passed to Linkui, and then through eight generations, including Yugang, for a total of 526 years. After this, the Human Sovereign clan arose.

“Liuqi Ji” is also written “Shuqi Ji.” In the “Chronicle of the Three Sovereigns” by Xiao Sima, Liuqi Ji belongs to the age of the Yellow Emperor and falls among the Nine Epochs.

The text next records the imperial lineage following the Human Sovereign, known by the title Xuanyuan and the surname Gongsun, who grew up around the Ji River. The original text also mentions “changing the imperial era and placing it among the Nine Epochs,” meaning that his chronology or lineage was arranged within the Nine Epochs.

The record concerning the Later Human Sovereign (a legendary ruler of high antiquity) reads: “Sun: jia, one; Moon: si, six; Stars: ren, one hundred seventy-nine; Celestial bodies: shen, two thousand one hundred forty-five.”

The Later Human Sovereign was titled Xuanyuan. His surname was Gongsun. He grew up by the Ji River and later changed his surname to Ji. He began his calendar in the gengzi year and ruled under the virtue of Earth. He established his capital at Xuanyuan Hill, which gave him the title Xuanyuan. He inherited the situation left by the declining Yuugang clan. Chiyou refused to obey his commands, so the Yellow Emperor fought him at Zhuolu and executed him in Central Ji.

The Yellow Emperor used clouds to name his official posts. He appointed Fenghou, Limu, Taishan, Ji, Changxian, Dahong, and others as assistants, and with the help of six worthy ministers brought order to Heaven and Earth, while the spirits also came to his aid. Later, he appointed Taichang, Shelóng, Zhurong, Dafeng, Houtu, Cangjie, and others, each to oversee a particular duty. They began building palaces and making boats, carts, mortars and pestles, bows and arrows, and coffins. They cast bells and tripods, and tamed oxen and horses for transport, making life easier for people throughout the realm.

The Yellow Emperor ordered Cangjie, the legendary inventor of writing, to create characters. Systems of clothing and headwear, ritual and music, and laws and regulations also arose at this time. He had Xihe observe the Sun, Changyi observe the Moon, and Chequ observe the stars and the seasons. He ordered Danao to establish the sexagenary calendar. Another account says that Fuxi ordered Danao to create the Jia calendar; perhaps this difference arose because official posts were passed down through generations. Ling Lun created the pitch standards known as lü, Lishou devised arithmetic, and Rongcheng brought these methods together in books on Yin-Yang, musical pitch, and the calendar.

The Yellow Emperor divided the wilderness into provinces, surveyed the land, and laid out the well-field system, so that the people no longer fought over land, officials did not act for private gain, and at markets people did not compete to raise prices but yielded goods to one another. Tribes from the four directions came to pay tribute, and the feudal lords submitted to him; hence he was called the Yellow Emperor. Hearing that Guangchengzi lived on Kongtong Mountain, he went there to visit him and seek instruction in the Great Dao.

The Yellow Emperor ruled for one hundred years. Later, he mounted the cauldron at Dinghu Lake, rode upon the clouds, and ascended to Heaven as an immortal. He had twenty-five sons, and the descendants of fourteen of them received surnames, forming twelve clans: Ji, You, Qi, Ji, Teng, Zhen, Ren, Xun, Xi, Gu, Huan, and Yi. His principal consort, Leizu, bore two sons: the elder, Xuanyao, also called Qingyang, and the younger, Changyi, who became a lord of Ruoshui.

The History Books and Calendar Books record nine figures called “Emperors.” According to the theory of the “Nine Eras,” they are divided into early, middle, and late periods, with three Emperors in each. Heaven gives life to and shelters all things; Earth forms and bears all things; and sages teach and transform the people. A sage’s duty, then, is to establish standards for the people and to open the way for endeavors that benefit the world and future generations. Why would they have deliberately sought titles?

After Fuxi came, in succession, the clans of Nüwa, Dating, Baihuang, Zhongyang, Lilu, Lilian, Hexu, Zunlu, Hundun, Haoying, Youchao, Zhuxiang, Getian, Yinkang, and Wuhuai—a total of fifteen clans. According to Fuxi’s official document, Dating, Wuhuai, and ten other clans were ministers whom Fuxi assigned to govern different regions. Could the same person first have served as Fuxi’s minister and later replaced him as ruler? More likely, each clan’s descendants succeeded one another over generations. Nüwa, for example, appeared after Fuxi and was credited with repairing the heavens. Fuxi died after reigning for more than a hundred years, and the histories say that Nüwa then succeeded him and ruled for 113 years. The one said to have succeeded him as ruler was probably a descendant of the Nüwa clan. The same likely applies to Wuhuai.

After Shennong came, in succession, the emperors Lin Kui, Cheng, Ming, Zhi, Li, Ai, and Yu Gang, spanning eight generations. If we calculate the years of their accessions using the sixty-year sexagenary cycle, then add the period of Xuanyuan, or the Yellow Emperor, the total time governed since Fuxi and Shennong comes to 1,933 years. At that point, the Nine Eras came to an end.

The Han Old Rites also records that sacrifices to the Three Emperors, the Five Emperors, the Nine Emperors, and sixty-four clans involved a total of eighty-one surnames, all belonging to ancient rulers. Zheng Sinong, in his commentary on the Rites of Zhou, classifies the Three Emperors, Five Emperors, Nine Emperors, and sixty-four clans as four separate groups.

The Record of Boats and Pots further states that the Huangci clan ruled for four generations; the Youkui clan of Shushan for six; and the Hundun, Dongku, and Huangtan clans for seven generations each. The Qitong clan ruled for three generations, the Jiyi clan for four, the Jiqu clan for one, the Xiwei clan for four, the Dachao clan for two, the Su ihuang clan for four, and the Yongcheng clan for eight. Together these make sixty-eight generations, known as the “Era of Yinti.”

The Cangjie clan ruled for one generation; the Xianghuang clan for twenty; the Zhongyang clan for four; and the Dating and Lilu clans for five each. The Lilian clan ruled for eleven generations, the Xuanyuan clan for three, the Hexu clan for one, the Getian clan for four, the Zonglu clan for five, the Zhurong clan for two, the Haoying clan for nine, the Youchao clan for seven, the Zhuxiang clan for three, the Yinkang clan for two, and the Wuhuai clan for six. Together these make eighty-eight generations, known as the “Era of Chantong.”

There were also the Juling, Goujiang, Qiaoming, Zhuoguang, and Cimin clans, collectively called the “Era of Xunfei.” Their names are known, but no specific records of their generations survive. Earlier still came only the Nine Emperors, the Earth Emperor, and the Heaven Emperor. The more distant antiquity is represented by the legend of Pangu, who created heaven and earth.

The Lüliang Stele records that seventy-two ancient houses performed the fengshan sacrifices, though Guan Zhong knew of only twelve. Other books give even more names of ancient clans, but they are now difficult to verify. Here I have selected and arranged only the accounts relating to the Nine Eras and the Nine Emperors. I dare neither blur the facts nor omit them through excessive brevity. Laozi said, “To recognize the beginning of antiquity is called the guiding principle of the Dao.”

Shao Hao, whose personal name was Zhi, courtesy name Qingyang, and surname Ji, was the ruler who succeeded the Yellow Emperor. He began his rule in the jimao year. Tradition says that on the day he received the mandate, phoenixes came flying; he therefore established offices named after birds, ruled by the De of Metal, fixed his capital at Qufu, and was styled the Jintian clan. He followed the seasons, welcomed the qi of the four seasons, and performed sacrifices, being accorded a place beside the spirits. Because he was able to practice the governing methods of Taihao, he was honored as Shao Hao.

In his later years Shao Hao declined. The Nine Li clans disrupted the norms and order, the duties of humans and spirits became confused, and society lost its order. Popular sacrifices were improperly conducted; each household appointed shamans and scribes, and offerings were made without restraint. The spirits were too close to the common people, good harvests no longer came, sacrifices lacked offerings, and disasters followed one after another. Shao Hao reigned for eighty-four years and then passed the Mandate of Heaven to Zhuanxu. He had two sons, Zhong and Jiaoji.

Zhuanxu was the grandson of the Yellow Emperor and the son of Changyi, of the Ji surname. At ten he assisted Shao Hao, at twelve he underwent the coming-of-age ceremony, and at twenty he succeeded to the throne. He began to rule in the renyin year, ruled by the De of Water, first established his capital in the land of Wei—which was therefore called Diqiu—and later moved to Gaoyang, being styled the Gaoyang clan.

Zhuanxu cultivated products suited to the land and arranged the seasons according to celestial patterns. He appointed Zhong, the Southern Rectifier, to manage heavenly affairs, so that the spirits each remained in their proper places; and Li, the Fire Rectifier, to manage earthly affairs, so that the people each kept their proper station, thereby restoring the old institutions and preventing mutual encroachment. He established the calendar with the Yin month as the beginning of the year; in that year the first day of the first month coincided with the Beginning of Spring, and the five planets gathered in the Ying Shi mansion. The territory under Zhuanxu’s rule was broad on all four sides, comparable to that in the time of Shennong.

His laws stipulated that if a woman walking on the road did not yield to a man, she would be reprimanded. He also ordered Feilong to imitate the sound of the winds from the eight directions and compose the music Chengyun, to be used in sacrifices to Shangdi. Zhuanxu reigned for seventy-eight years; his son was Qiongchan.

Emperor Ku was the grandson of Shao Hao and the son of Jiaoji. At fifteen,.

Di Ku, a legendary ruler of high antiquity, first assisted Zhuanxu in governing the realm for fifteen years, then succeeded him as the sovereign of all under Heaven. The scripture records that he began his reign in the year Jimao. By calculation using the sexagenary cycle, he ruled for a total of forty-six years.

Di Ku was the grandson of Shaohao and the son of Jiaoji. At fifteen, he began assisting Zhuanxu. After succeeding him, he ruled by the virtue of Wood, established his capital at Bo, and was known as the Gaoxin clan.

Di Ku ordered Hei Xian to compose musical pieces such as “Jiu Zhao,” “Jiu Lie,” and “Liu Ying.” He also commissioned Chui to make instruments including drums, bells, and stone chimes. The music was performed on instruments such as the ling flute, the xun, and the chi, while phoenixes and celestial pheasants danced to its rhythms. These rites and music displayed the ruler’s virtue, accorded with Heaven’s will, and showed care for the people.

Di Ku cultivated his own virtue, and so the realm submitted to him. He had four sons: Qi, Liang, Zhi, and Yao. The scripture also says that before Shaohao, the titles of the realm were based on the rulers’ virtues, while those of the officials were based on signs and portents. From the time of Zhuanxu onward, the realm’s titles were based on the regions where people lived, while officials’ titles reflected the duties they oversaw.

“Yu” means to reach an end or the utmost point. Di Ku was able to put virtue fully into practice and arrange the courses of the sun, moon, and stars, bringing stability to the people. He was therefore given the title “Di Yu.” After his forty-six years on the throne, Di Zhi succeeded him. Di Zhi was excessively licentious and failed to govern benevolently. He was deposed after nine years. The scripture says that Di Ku and Di Zhi ruled for a combined total of fifty-five years.

At the age of sixteen, Emperor Yao (a legendary ruler of high antiquity, surnamed Yiqi and named Fangxun) was chosen by the people to ascend to the position of Son of Heaven. His reign began in a Jiachen year; according to the calendar used in the text, his eleventh year in power fell in a Wei year. Yao ruled by the virtue of Fire, established his capital at Pingyang, and was known as the Tang ruler.

At that time, after the previous ruler, Emperor Zhi, had declined and abdicated, the people were living in hardship. Yao cultivated his Virtue and valued frugality. He built an earthen platform three feet high, left the thatched roof untrimmed, the beams undecorated, and the palace walls unpainted. He also used hollows in the ground as vessels for wine and drank water from his cupped hands, showing the people how to live simply. Whenever someone went hungry, he said, “I have made this person hungry.” When someone suffered from the cold, he said, “I have made this person cold.” When someone was found guilty, he said, “I have brought this person into guilt.” The people honored him as they honored the sun and moon, and loved him as they loved their parents.

Yao ordered Xi and He, officials responsible for observing celestial phenomena and establishing the calendar, to observe the heavens reverently, study the movements of the sun, moon, and stars, and inform the people of the seasons. According to the scripture, the year had 366 days. Intercalary months were used to regulate the calendar, determine the four seasons, and organize the years. A year was called a “cycle,” and the Yin month marked its beginning. Yao also sent Xi Zhong, Xi Shu, He Zhong, and He Shu to govern affairs in the four quarters, so that public matters could be properly administered and good governance gradually flourish.

Yet, according to calculations based on the celestial cycles, the age had reached the end of the “sixth conjunction,” and the waterways no longer flowed freely. In the Jiachen year of Yao’s sixty-first year in power, the floods became disastrous. Yao appointed Gun to control them, but after nine years there was still no success. Yao then asked the leaders of the feudal states, “I have been in power for seventy years and intend to yield the throne. Who do you think can succeed me?” They replied, “There is an unmarried man among the people.” Yao asked who it was, and they said it was Shun of Yu.

Yao then gave his two daughters in marriage to Shun, making them his wives, and spent three years examining and testing him. Afterward, Yao said to Shun, “Shun, the succession ordained by Heaven has now fallen to you. You must sincerely uphold the Way of balance and rightness.” He then yielded the throne to Shun.

Yao ruled for seventy years. Shun was summoned and appointed in the Gui-chou year, and underwent three years of examination. In the Bingchen year, he received the mandate and administered the affairs of the Son of Heaven for twenty-eight years at the ancestral temple of Wen Zu. In the Guiwei year, Yao died at the age of 116.

The dates, month, constellation, and cyclical year recorded for Emperor Shun are: “Day Jia, first; month Si, sixth; constellation Gui, one hundred and eightieth; and cyclical sign Xu, two thousand one hundred and fifty-ninth.”

Shun was the fifth-generation descendant of Qiongchan, son of Zhuanxu, an ancient ruler. He was born at Yaoxu, bore the surname Yao, and was named Chonghua. In the year Guiwei, he began ruling the realm with the virtue of Earth. Before he rose to prominence, he was known as the Yu clansman. He made pottery on the banks of the Yellow River, farmed at Mount Li, and fished at Weirui. Yao married his two daughters to him and put him through various trials. Only after observing him for three years did Yao appoint him to oversee government affairs.

Shun observed the Jade Pivot and Jade Balance, instruments for tracking celestial phenomena, to calibrate the Seven Regulators: the sun, moon, and planets. He then performed the rite of sacrifice to Heaven to worship the Supreme Lord, and offered a solemn, purifying sacrifice to the Six Venerable Spirits. He sacrificed to the four seasons, cold and heat, the sun and moon, the stars, and the spirits governing floods and droughts. He performed distant offerings to mountains and rivers, and made offerings to all the various spirits, even those not listed in the official sacrificial register.

He put the Five Jades, held by feudal lords when paying court, in order, summoned the Four Peaks, officials in charge of the four regions, and the governors of the various lands, then returned the jade tokens to them. Shun toured the four regions, divided the realm into twelve provinces, and performed sacrificial rites at twelve celebrated mountains. He dismissed the Four Criminals, four notoriously wicked lords, and sought the views of the Four Peaks and the governors of the twelve provinces.

Bo Yu was appointed Minister of Works to manage water and land; Hou Ji oversaw the sowing of grains according to the seasons; Xie became Minister of Education; Gao Yao was appointed Minister of Justice, in charge of criminal law; Chui became Minister of Works and supervised the artisans; Yi was appointed Minister of the Forests, overseeing plants, birds, and beasts; Boyi oversaw the Three Rites, conducting sacrifices to the celestial spirits, earthly deities, and human ghosts, and arranging the order of precedence for the rites; Kui was in charge of music and taught the children of the nobility; and Long became Minister of Communications, responsible for conveying words between those above and below, and for curbing slander and improper conduct. Yu, Chui, Yi, Boyi, Kui, and Long were the six newly appointed officials. Together, the Four Peaks and the twelve governors numbered twenty-two people.

As Shun prepared to hand over the throne, he said to Yu: “Come, Yu! The succession decreed by Heaven has now fallen to you. In time, you will ascend to the imperial throne.” Shun was summoned and appointed thirty years after his birth, then observed for another thirty years, and evaluated for three years. During his period of appointment, he had also administered the government as regent for twenty-eight years, and had mourned Yao for three years. In the year Bingxu, he reported at the Wen Zu temple and moved to Pufan, where he ruled for thirty-three years. In the year Dingsi, he appointed Yu regent for seventeen years, then toured the four regions and died. Including the years from his summons and appointment, he and Yu governed the realm together for fifty years. Shun lived to the age of one hundred and ten.

From Shaohao to Shun, there were six rulers. Emperor Zhi was deposed and submitted to the House of Gaoxin; he was later excluded from the Five Emperors. This period lasted 350 years. Since the beginning of the Primordial Origin, 64,793 years had passed. Yu received the Mandate in the year Ding-Si; seven years later, the sixth hui came to an end.

Laozi said, “When the Dao is lost, De appears; when De is lost, benevolence appears.” This means that as the Way of the sovereign declined, it gave way to the De of emperors; when that De was no longer sufficient, it gave way to the benevolence and righteousness of kings. The abdications among Yao, Shun, and Yu took place when Heaven and Earth converged, at the point when one great cycle was divided in two. Earlier Confucian scholars held that works of numerical calculation such as Huangji Jingshi grouped sovereigns and emperors in the six hui of the precelestial era, and kings and hegemonic lords in the six hui of the postcelestial era. As the count of the six hui neared its end, floods brought devastation. Had figures such as Yao, Shun, and Yu not appeared, the people might have perished in the waters like fish and turtles. For this reason, all under Heaven praised them.

I had once thought that Shaohao, Zhuanxu, Emperor Ku, Emperor Zhi, and Emperor Yao together made up the Five Emperors, while Yu was the first of the Three Kings. Shun came after Yao and before Yu. The Grand Historian believed Emperor Zhi to be without the Way and Shun to possess great De; he therefore removed Emperor Zhi from the Five Emperors and included Shun among them. Surely this should serve as a warning. Later, when I read the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate for Ordering the World, I saw its calculations: at the beginning of a great cycle, the Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch for the sun was Jia-one, for the moon Zi-one, for the stars Jia-one, and for the constellations Zi-one. Thereafter, the great cycle governed the hui, the hui governed the yun, and the yun governed the shi. Each level followed from the one before it, increasing by one number each time, up to the sixth hui.

According to this calculation, the month count reached Si-six, the star count Gui-one hundred eighty, and the constellation count Zi-two thousand one hundred forty-nine; only then did the sequence of Jia-Zi begin. Sixteen years later, in the year Ji-Mao, Shaohao received the Mandate. After Zhuanxu and Gaoxin, when the constellation count reached Wei-two thousand one hundred fifty-six, it was the Jia-Wu shi. Eleven years later, in the year Jia-Chen, Yao received the Mandate. Only from that point onward were years and events recorded using the Jia-Zi cycle. Could this be where the tradition that Da Nao created the cyclical system of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches began?

Chapter Six: Kings and Hegemonic Lords.

The Three Kings refers to the three dynasties of Xia, Shang, and Zhou. The Five Hegemons refers to the rulers of Qi, Chu, Qin, Jin, and Song who established regional dominance. The eighth year of Yu the Great’s reign was a jiazi year, falling midway through a great cycle and at the beginning of the seventh hui, a calendrical unit that divides time into stages. Yu came after Yao and Shun and before Tang of Shang and King Wu of Zhou, and his achievements were also considerable.

Laozi said, “The highest benevolence is put into practice without a sense of doing anything; the highest righteousness is practiced deliberately; when it comes to the highest ritual, people perform the rites, but when they receive no response, they roll up their sleeves and force them through.” Laozi also said, “Only when De is lost does benevolence arise; when benevolence is lost, righteousness arises; when righteousness is lost, ritual arises.” Ancient books say that the order of achievement in governing is first to establish merit, then to establish one’s words. Yu the Great regulated the floods by following the flow of the water, without intervening recklessly, and his merit has endured for ten thousand generations. Is this not establishing merit? Later, political life gradually declined: first came the hegemons, and later ritual and music also fell into decline. The power to wage punitive campaigns passed into the hands of high ministers, showing that benevolence and righteousness had been lost and ritual had become shallow. Mencius therefore said, “Yao and Shun possessed benevolence by nature; Tang of Shang and King Wu of Zhou practiced benevolence themselves; the Five Hegemons merely borrowed the names of benevolence and righteousness.”

Shao Yong said: “After the seventh hui, when Yin began to grow, there were no more hui periods in which Yang rose. Although Yin and Yang alternate in their movement, each waxing and waning in its proper season, could virtue and achievement not also appear in turn?”

Xia Yu: The sun is jia one; the moon is ji six; the stars are gui one hundred eighty; the earthly branches are hai two thousand one hundred sixty. Yu’s surname was Si and his personal name was Wenming. He was the grandson of Zhuanxu and the son of Gun. In the bingchen year, Shun recommended Yu to take the position of Son of Heaven. After Yu had served as regent for seven years, the dingsi year, according to the chronology of the Yuan Jing, belonged to the seventh hui.

The Yuan Jing’s record of the seventh hui

In the eighth year of Yu’s reign, the sun is jia one; the moon is wu seven; the stars are jia one hundred eighty-one; the earthly branches are zi two thousand one hundred sixty-one. When Yu had served as regent for seventeen years, it was the guiyou year. Shun died after traveling on an inspection tour to the south, and Yu formally took the throne as king. According to the chronology beginning after seven years of regency, this year belonged to the seventh hui of the Yuan Jing.

The Yuan Jing’s record of the seventh hui

In the eighth year of Yu’s reign, the cyclical designation was Jiaxu. The day count was Jia 1, the month count Wu 7, the star count Jia 181, and the time-period count Zi 2,161. In the seventeenth year of his regency, Guichou, Shun died after touring the four quarters. Yu then formally ascended the throne as king. Yu ruled under the virtue of Metal, adopted the month of Jianyin as the beginning of the year, and established his capital at Pingyang.

Yu initially inherited the rank of lord from his father, Lord Chong, and was therefore called “Lord Yu.” Later, as Minister of Works, he controlled the floods and brought the land under order. The Book of Documents records that Yu used four kinds of transport while controlling the waters: boats on water, carts on land, sledges through mud, and sedan chairs in the mountains. Following the contours of the mountains, he cut roads and felled trees, cleared the nine great rivers so that they flowed into the four seas, and dug channels through the fields to carry water into the rivers. He set tribute according to the products of each region. Yu married a woman of the Tushan clan, and they had a son, Qi.

During the eight years he spent controlling the waters, Yu passed his own gate three times without entering. He devoted himself to surveying and planning the water-control works, helping to establish the territorial administration of the Five Domains, which extended across five thousand li. Each province measured five hundred li across, and the Five Domains together covered an area two thousand five hundred li across, making five thousand li from east to west and the same from north to south. Each of the nine provinces had twelve lords to assist in its administration. The five domains of the Capital, the Nobility, the Pacified, the Guarded, and the Remote together covered three thousand li and lay within the nine provinces. Beyond the nine provinces, the Guarded and Remote domains each extended a further one thousand li. The territory reached to the borders of the four seas. Five officials were appointed in every region, with five leaders in each domain; each group guided the people in rendering service and maintaining waterworks. Once the six offices had been put in order, the three classes of land were also properly managed, and the tax system was established in the Central Plain.

When Yu had just been charged with governing, the Miao people still refused to submit. He therefore summoned the lords of the various regions and, in the army, swore this oath:

All you officers and soldiers, heed my command. The Miao people are ignorant and unenlightened. They refuse to submit, are arrogant and conceited, and think themselves in the right. They defy the righteous way and corrupt their virtue. Worthy gentlemen have been driven into obscurity, while petty men occupy high positions. The people have abandoned them and no longer support them, and so Heaven has sent down calamity. Now I lead you officers and soldiers, carrying out Heaven’s mandate to punish the guilty. You must work together with one heart if you are to win merit.

Thirty days passed, yet the Miao people still refused to obey. Yi urged Yu to withdraw the troops and reorganize the army. Later, Yu had the soldiers dance while holding shields and feather ornaments, and the Miao people submitted.

Laozi said: “There is a saying about the use of arms: I dare not take the initiative in war, but would rather respond; I dare not advance an inch, but would rather retreat a foot.” The way Yu used the army may be called the army of a true king: it wins people over through De and upholds justice. Yet without Yu having first launched a punitive campaign, how could there later have been the “Oath of Tang” of Shang Tang and the “Great Oath” of King Wu of Zhou? Does this not warn later generations that those who first establish a practice may also leave calamities for those who come after? It may also serve as a caution to those who take the lead.

Yu appointed Gao Yao and Bo Yi to assist him in governing, and raised armies to punish the lords who disobeyed the king’s commands. No one in the four directions dared fail to submit. Yu’s authority reached east to the sea and west to the shifting sands; the north and south were also transformed by his teaching, and his fame and governance extended throughout the four seas. Yu administered the affairs of the Son of Heaven as regent for seventeen years, then formally ascended the throne and ruled for another ten, making twenty-seven years in all. In the year Guiwei, Yu died while on an eastern tour at Kuaiji, at the age of one hundred. He passed the throne to his son Qi. The Xia dynasty had seventeen kings and lasted four hundred and fifty-eight years. Later, Jie was driven into exile, and the Xia dynasty fell.

The sexagenary signs, lunar mansions, and zodiac markers recorded for the time Tang of Shang took the throne are: a Jia day, the Wu month, the Seven Stars, a Yi year, the Mao hour, a Zi year, and so on. (The relationships among these calendrical markers in the original are difficult to determine, so they are reproduced here as given.) His surname was Zi, his personal name Lü, and his courtesy name Tianyi. He was the fourteenth-generation descendant of Qi, the minister of works under Yu of Xia. After serving as a feudal lord for seventeen years, Tang drove out Jie of Xia and ascended the throne. He raised his army in an Yi-Wei year and took the throne in the Mao month of a Chen year. He ruled under the virtue of Water, set the Chou month as the beginning of the year, and established his capital at Bo; for this reason, he was known as Cheng Tang.

From Qi to Cheng Tang, the Shang people moved their capital eight times. Cheng Tang was the first to settle at Bo. At the fields of Shen, he gained the aid of Yi Yin. Because the Earl of Ge failed to perform sacrifices, Cheng Tang began his campaigns against the feudal lords by attacking Ge. Jie of Xia was morally corrupt, and the people suffered hardship. Cheng Tang once recommended Yi Yin to Jie, but Yi Yin went to him five times and Jie still refused to employ him. Believing that the government of Xia had fallen into deep disorder, Yi Yin returned to Bo.

Cheng Tang failed to pay tribute to Jie of Xia on schedule, so Jie raised an army to punish him. But the troops of the Nine Yi did not arrive. Yi Yin said, “Now is the time to act.” He then assisted Cheng Tang in attacking Jie. Cheng Tang swore an oath before his forces and fought Jie at Mingtiao, driving him into exile at Nanchao. All under Heaven submitted to Cheng Tang.

Cheng Tang still felt that he had faults. Thus, the warning engraved on his bathing vessel, the “Pan Inscription,” said: “Renew your virtue each day; make progress from one day to the next, and keep renewing yourself.” Cheng Tang ruled for thirteen years and lived to the age of one hundred.

In the twenty-first year of Pan Geng’s reign, a Gengshen year, Laozi descended at Bo, riding the essence of the sun, and was conceived in the womb of the wondrous Jade Maiden of the Yin clan. In the twenty-fourth year of King Wu Ding, a Gengchen year, on the fifteenth day of the second month, Laozi was born beneath a plum tree. He pointed to the tree and took Li as his surname.

Di Xin, known as King Zhou of Shang, indulged in wine and women and ruled with cruelty and lawlessness. Bi Gan died for remonstrating with him; Wei Zi was imprisoned; Ji Zi was reduced to slavery; and Feng Meng was killed. The Earl of the West, King Wen of Zhou, conquered Li. Alarmed, Zu Yi wrote “The Earl of the West Conquers Li.” But King Zhou said, “Is not my fate determined by Heaven?” He was benighted and unperceptive, and would not heed advice. King Wu of Zhou attacked him. When his army was defeated, King Zhou fled to the Terrace of the Deer, adorned himself with precious jade, and threw himself into the fire.

Laozi said, “With the highest ruler, the people only know that he exists. With the next, they draw near to him and praise him. With the next, they fear him and treat him with contempt.” Alas, Jie of Xia was truly without the Dao, and Cheng Tang drove him out; Zhou of Shang was truly without the Dao, and King Wu of Zhou attacked him. Is this not a case of the people fearing their ruler?

The Shang dynasty had thirty kings and lasted six hundred and forty-four years before it fell and passed into the hands of the Zhou.

King Wu of Zhou, surnamed Ji and named Fa, was the son of King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang. Ji Chang was descended from Hou Ji, the agricultural official in the time of Yao. He served King Zhou of Shang and once held one of the Three Ducal Ministers alongside the Lords of Jiu and E. King Zhou imprisoned him at Youli for seven years. Ji Chang was released only after offering up territory, and was granted the authority to wage punitive campaigns, symbolized by a bow, arrows, an axe, and a battle-axe. Building on the foundation laid by his grandfather, Gong Ji, Ji Chang was able to devote himself to military campaigns and became the Earl of the West. In the twenty-fourth year of King Zhou’s reign, King Wen died.

Nine years later, King Wu made Jiang Taigong (Taigong Wang) his military adviser and appointed the Duke of Zhou, Dan, to assist him. He overthrew the Yin-Shang dynasty, received the Mandate of Heaven, returned to Feng, and took the throne as Son of Heaven. Facing south, he received the homage of the regional lords and issued proclamations throughout the realm. Counting his own reign from the year of the Rabbit, he made the Zi month—the eleventh month of the Xia calendar—the beginning of the year, and founded the state under the Wood phase. King Wu restored the Shang dynasty’s laws and decrees, freed the imprisoned Jizi, tended the tomb of Bigan, and honored Shang Rong. He distributed the wealth from the Deer Terrace and opened the granaries at Juqiao to relieve the hungry. The people throughout the realm were thereby settled, and the multitudes willingly submitted to him.

The Zhou dynasty divided noble ranks into five grades and fiefs into three categories. Officials were appointed according to virtue and talent, and duties were assigned according to ability. The dynasty gave priority to the five teachings on which people’s livelihoods depended, with particular emphasis on food, funerals, and sacrifices. It promoted trustworthiness and righteousness, honored virtue, and rewarded merit. In this way, the ruler could govern with his robes hanging loose and his hands folded, while the realm remained well ordered.

I have often reflected on this: in the time of Tang Yao there were the Four Evils, whom Shun punished; in the time of Yu Shun there were the Three Miao, whom Yu attacked. Tang of the Xia dynasty began his campaigns with Ge, while the Earl of the West of Shang conquered Li. In ancient times, those who gained control of the realm, whether through abdication or conquest, generally had first acquired the strength to do so. Was it the will of Heaven, the actions of people, or the force of circumstances?

King Wu reigned for six years and lived to the age of ninety-three. One hundred and twenty-one years later, King Zhao of Zhou made a southern inspection tour and never returned. Another one hundred and seven years later, King Yi of Zhou received the regional lords while seated below the hall. Fifty-three years after that, King Li of Zhou fled to Zhi. The two regents, the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao, governed together for fourteen years, a period known as the Gonghe Regency. After King Li died at Zhi, the two ministers enthroned his crown prince, Jing, as king. He was King Xuan of Zhou.

Zhong Shanfu, Yin Jifu, Fang Shu, the Duke of Zhou, and the Duke of Shao were known collectively as the Five Hegemons. They assisted King Xuan and worked to restore the achievements of Kings Wen and Wu. Fifty-seven years later, King You of Zhou was killed by the Marquis of Shen, and King Ping moved the capital to Luoyi. The Zhou dynasty thereby entered its Eastern Zhou period. King Ping invested Marquis Wen of Jin and Duke Xiang of Qin.

Sixty-four years later, King Huan of Zhou led troops from Cai, Wei, and Chen in an attack on Zheng. The Zheng army met them in two wings and shot King Huan in the shoulder. Forty years later, King Hui of Zhou appointed Duke Huan of Qi as leader of the regional lords. Thirty years after that, King Xiang of Zhou dismissed his Di queen. The Di army attacked Zhou, and King Xiang fled to Zheng. Zheng settled him at Fan, while Shudai took the opportunity to proclaim himself king. The following year, King Xiang appealed to Jin for help. Duke Wen of Jin escorted him back to Zhou and killed Shudai. The Zhou king sent Prince Hu to grant territory to Duke Wen and recognize him as leader of the regional lords. From then on, the great states of Qi, Jin, Qin, Chu, and Song grew ever stronger, while the Zhou royal house gradually declined.

Thirty-one years later, the king of Chu attacked Luhun, reviewed his troops near the Zhou capital, and sent an envoy to inquire about the Nine Tripods of the Zhou royal house, the ritual vessels that symbolized kingship. From then on, disregard for the royal house grew more pronounced. Fifty-five years later, in the gengxu year of King Ling of Zhou, Confucius was born. Seventy-eight years after that, King Xiao of Zhou died. Accounts differ as to whether his title was “Xiao” or “Kao.” His crown prince, Wu, succeeded him as King Weilie of Zhou.

Duke Hui of Henan enfeoffed his younger son, Gong, as the Lord of Eastern Zhou. Another account says that King Xiao restored the title of Western Zhou and enfeoffed his younger brother, Duke Huan, in Henan; seven years later, Eastern Zhou was established, and the Zhou dynasty split into eastern and western parts. Fifty-eight years later, in the jiayin year of King Xian, Zhao and Han divided Zhou territory between them. Another record says that the Lord of Eastern Zhou succeeded to his title in the xinyou year. Thirty-one years later, in the yiyou year, Meng Ke (Mencius) became a senior minister in Wei. Twenty-nine years after that, in the jiayin year of King Nan, the Lords of Eastern and Western Zhou attacked each other.

Fifty-one years later, in the yisi year of King Nan, the Zhou king joined with troops from Qi, Han, Zhao, and Wei to attack Qin. After the campaign ended in defeat, he fled to Qin and surrendered all his fief territory. He then returned to Zhou, where he died. The Zhou dynasty had thirty-six kings and lasted 867 years. Six years after the fall of Western Zhou, Duke Hui of Eastern Zhou again joined with the regional lords to attack Qin. After their defeat, he died in Qin, and all Eastern Zhou territory was absorbed by Qin.

The period of the Three Kings discussed earlier lasted 1,969 years. Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin became hegemonic lords more than 1,500 years after that period. Looking at the histories of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, Tang of Shang and King Wu of Zhou were both hegemonic lords before later becoming Son of Heaven. The rise of hegemonic lords, then, did not begin only with Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin. Moreover, Kunwu in the Xia dynasty, and Da Peng and Shiwei in the Shang dynasty, had already appeared in the historical records. After King Xiang of Zhou, Kunwu, Da Peng, and Shiwei were no longer counted among the Five Hegemons; Qin, Song, Chu, and other states were included among the Zhou dynasty’s Five Hegemons instead.

The first six hui (cycles) total 64,800 years. Subtracting the time before the opening of the world and the period of Pangu leaves four hui, or 43,200 years. At the beginning, the Heavenly Sovereign appeared, and human society began to take shape. From the Heavenly Sovereign’s first rise to the seventh year of Yu the Great spans two hui, or 21,600 years. After Shaohao, five rulers bore the title of Emperor, across eleven and two-thirds generations. By this reckoning, the period of rulers called Sovereigns lasted 21,250 years, while the period of rulers called Emperors lasted only 350 years. Why, then, was the imperial era so short and the sovereign era so long? In fact, matters were not so simple.

Shennong had already taken the title Flame Emperor, and the eight rulers of his line after him, including Lin Kui, were also called Emperors. Xuanyuan, too, was called Emperor. It is clear, then, that since the Later Three Sovereigns, the titles Sovereign and Emperor had alternated, becoming interwoven throughout 1,933 years of history.

The period of the Three Kings began in the Ding-si year of the Xia dynasty and lasted nearly 1,454 years. When King Ping of Zhou moved the capital east, political power passed into the hands of the various lords. From this we can see that the power of the Five Hegemons first took root under King Zhao of Zhou, gradually grew under King Yi, and became evident under King Ping. It gathered strength under Kings Xi and Hui, by which time the Zhou royal house retained little more than its title.

Looking over this history, can we really say that Sovereigns deserve intimacy, Emperors deserve praise, Kings inspire awe, and Hegemons deserve contempt? The four titles—Sovereign, Emperor, King, and Hegemon—were in use when Yu the Great took the throne in his eighth year, at the midpoint of a great cycle. Before him were those called Sovereigns and Emperors; after him came those called Kings and Hegemons. If we calculate from the latter six hui, then before the opening of the world there were four and a half hui, and the periods of Kings and Hegemons each occupied roughly half. The period of Kings lasted a little over two hui, totaling 20,435 years. The Three Kings period lasted only 1,969 years, and instances of hegemonic rule had already been interwoven throughout it. Does “Hegemon” here mean only a lord who held supremacy over other feudal lords in the usual sense? It also includes the various ranks within the dynastic order—Sovereign, Emperor, King, and Hegemon—as well as nested distinctions such as Sovereign among Sovereigns, Emperor among Sovereigns, and Hegemon among Kings. Just as summer’s commands may be carried out in spring and winter’s in autumn, the vital forces of the four seasons can sometimes shift out of turn. They cannot be summed up by a single rule.

The Book of Changes says, “One who understands the Way of Change probably knows how the spirits work.” The four aspects I mentioned earlier—principle, Qi, image, and number—mean that where there is principle, Qi arises; where there is Qi, it takes visible form as an image; and from an image, number can be inferred.

One Great Cycle is divided into twelve Assemblies, corresponding to the twelve months of a year. Each Assembly is divided into thirty Periods, corresponding to the thirty days of a month. Each Period is divided into twelve Generations, corresponding to the twelve double-hours of a day. One Generation lasts thirty years, corresponding to the thirty minutes of an hour. Thus, thirty years in one Generation amount to 129,600 hours; twelve Generations in one Period amount to 129,600 days; thirty Periods in one Assembly amount to 129,600 months; and twelve Assemblies in one Great Cycle amount to 129,600 years. This is only a rough outline. I have mentioned a point or two for illustration; I do not presume to have mastered the subject, but am willing to learn.

As for Shao Yong’s writings, I have privately drawn on his discussions of Dao and De, achievements, and abilities, which he uses to clarify the distinctions among emperors, kings, and hegemonic rulers. The material discussed in Guanwu, along with the divinations based on hexagram Qi and musical pitch, can be consulted in the Huangji Jingshi Shu.

End of the Upper Volume.

Lower Volume

Commentary by Du Daojian, a later scholar from Dangtu.

Chapter Seven: The Chapter on Birth

Laozi says, “I do not know whose descendant I am; I existed before the Lord of Heaven appeared.” According to the Chronicles and Biographies, Laozi…

Laozi said, “I do not know whose descendant I am, yet I existed before the Heavenly Emperor.” According to the accounts in the Records and Biographies, Laozi is the founding ancestor of the Great Dao, the primordial Qi and form that existed before the Heavenly Emperor—that is, Heaven itself. Thus he was born before Heaven and Earth took shape, though at birth he had no body. He remained after Heaven and Earth had formed, yet had no fixed shape. Without a body, he had no fixed name; without a fixed name, his changes between concealment and manifestation were impossible to fathom. Perhaps this refers to the Lord of Chaos.

When Laozi was in the celestial realm, he bore many honorific titles: Venerable of the Void Emperor, Lord of the Limitless Great Dao; Heavenly Emperor Radiant Soul Treasure, the Exalted Supreme Laozi, Great Emperor of Heaven; Lord of the One, Emperor of the Cavern of Truth, Supreme Sovereign of the Nine Heavens; Celestial Venerable of Great Purity, Supreme Lord Lao of the Mysterious Origin; Lord of the Golden Gate, the Sage of Later Generations; Lord of the Nine Elders’ Immortal Capital; Supreme Elder, Still Elder Celestial Lord; and the True Origin Teaching Master, Imperial Lord of the Golden Gate, among others.

When he descended into the human world, he also had many titles, including Celestial Master Who Penetrates the Mystery, Master Pangu, Ancient Great Master, Great Mysterious Magister, Master Yuhua, Master Guangshou, Master Dacheng, Master Guangcheng, Master Suiying, Master Chijing, Master Lutu, Master Wucheng, Master Yinshou, and Master Zhenxing. These titles reflect what Laozi called “the lord of all forms and the teacher of emperors and kings”: his names varied according to the circumstances.

Titles such as “Emperor of the Mysterious Origin,” “Emperor of the Great Dao and Mysterious Origin,” “Great Emperor of Heaven, Supreme One of Primordial Unity,” “Great Emperor of Heaven, Exalted Lord of the Great Dao, Golden Gate, and Mysterious Origin,” and “Emperor of the Supreme Lord Lao, Primordial Unity, and Highest De” were honorific titles conferred by successive imperial courts.

Laozi is said to have withdrawn into the Great Nonbeing, the original state without form or image; manifested in the Great Beginning, when Heaven and Earth first took shape; moved through the Great Void, the boundless expanse; brought Heaven and Earth into being; and governed the spirits. He existed eternally even before Heaven and Earth had formed. Can this be anyone other than Lord Lao? How could I, a disciple of Laozi, fail to expand upon and explain these teachings?

According to the Basic Annals, Laozi’s surname was Li, his personal name was Er, his courtesy name was Boyang, and his posthumous title was Dan. His mother, Yin, was from Qurenli in Laixiang, Ku County, Bozhou. After sensing the vital essence of the sun, she became pregnant and gave birth to Laozi on the fifteenth day of the second month in the gengchen year, the twenty-fourth year of King Wuding of the Shang. The Shang calendar began the year in the chou month, so the second month corresponded to the yin month, which is today’s first month and the time of the Shangyuan Festival. Laozi could speak from birth. He pointed to a plum tree and took Li, “plum,” as his surname. Because his hair and beard were white, he was called “Laozi,” meaning “Old Master.” The auspicious signs at his birth are recorded in histories and biographies. Sites associated with him still stand in Bozhou today, including Taiqing Palace, the Nine Dragon Well, and the White Deer Cypress.

In the dingmao year, the twenty-first year of King Dixin, the Zhou people began clearing land on Mount Qi. The Western Earl of Zhou summoned Laozi and appointed him Keeper of the Archives, an official responsible for the texts. Under King Wu, Laozi was transferred to the post of Pillar-Beneath-the-Palace Historian, and he continued in this position under King Cheng. In the early years of King Zhao’s reign, Laozi resigned and returned to Bozhou. In the guichou year, the twenty-sixth year of King Zhao, Laozi passed through Hangu Pass and taught the two-part Dao De to Yin Xi, the Keeper of the Pass, in a thatched tower on Mount Zhongnan. He then left by way of Dasan Pass. He arranged to meet Yin Xi at the Qingyang Market in Chengdu, and the two traveled west together.

After King Mu returned to Zhou from his western tour, he admired Laozi’s profound Dao. He climbed Mount Zhongnan, built a thatched tower, and renamed it the Tower-Observatory. He appointed Yin Gui and Du Chong, recluses who cultivated the Dao, to oversee the sacrificial rites. Later, seven people came to be known as Daoist practitioners. Before long, Laozi returned east. Passing through the Tower-Observatory, he taught Yin Gui, Du Chong, and Song Lun the Registers of the Purple Void and Yang Radiance of the Dao and De, a Daoist scripture and collection of talismans and registers.

King You summoned Laozi to serve as Grand Historian. In the xinyou year, the third year of King You’s reign, Laozi told the Zhou king that three rivers had suffered earthquakes and that the Zhou dynasty was about to fall. He then disappeared. In the guimao year, the thirty-fourth year of King Ping’s reign, Laozi appeared again at Dasan Pass. Only much later did he return to the Central Plains. King Jing appointed him Keeper of the Archives, a post he held for eighteen years. Confucius once traveled to Zhou with Nangong Jingshu to ask Laozi about ritual. In the second year of King Yilie, Laozi passed through Qin. Duke Xian of Qin provided him with lodgings, treated him with respect, and asked him about the calendar and astronomical calculations.

In the ninth year of King Nan’s reign, Laozi traveled to places including Mount Nüji, Mount Difei, and Mount Tianzhu. He then set out again from Dasan Pass, crossed the shifting sands, and journeyed westward up Mount Kunlun. It is said that he lived for 174 years under the Shang and 822 years under the Zhou. He traveled throughout the world, assisted in public affairs, and set the times to rights, spanning a total of 996 years.

Thus, those who view Laozi only through the history of the Shang and Zhou do not know of Laozi as the “Supreme One.” And if they view him only as a figure of the human world, how could they know of Laozi, who existed before Heaven? As the Dao De Jing says: “Alone, he stands unchanged; he moves through all things without coming to harm.” And: “Holding to the Dao of old, one can govern what exists today.” Perhaps Laozi was using the ancient Dao to speak of himself. As for the period from the Qin and Han through the Tang and Song, Laozi’s manifestations and miraculous transformations took countless forms, which ordinary people could hardly recognize. The relevant accounts remain preserved in the Basic Annals and the Veritable Records.

Guan Yin’s surname was Yin and his personal name was Xi. He served as a high official at the court of King Zhao of Zhou. Skilled in astronomy, he observed in advance a favorable, dragonlike and snakelike Qi rising in the southeast. Knowing that a sage would pass through Hangu Pass, he asked to leave his post and was appointed its commandant.

On the Renwu day of the fifth month in the Guichou year of King Zhao of Zhou, purple Qi rose into the sky. An old man was approaching the pass in a white covered carriage drawn by a blue ox, accompanied by several disciples, with Xu Jia driving. Guan Yin went out to meet him, bowed respectfully, and recognized the old man as Laozi. “The Great Dao is about to withdraw from the world,” he said. “Please, for my sake, set down your teachings in a book.” He then welcomed Laozi to a thatched tower on Mount Zhongnan and honored him as his teacher. The following year, the Jia Yin year, Laozi transmitted to him the Dao De Jing, a work of more than five thousand characters. It encompasses Heaven and Earth and accords with the transformations of creation; it addresses rulers, ministers, ordinary people, and the myriad things, leaving nothing outside its scope.

The Dao De Jing honors the Dao and De, regarding benevolence and righteousness as secondary. It esteems the way ancient sage kings governed, while looking down on the tactics of later rulers who sought hegemony. In broad terms, the book explains the Dao of Heaven and the way of humanity, and sets the thoughts of rulers and ordinary people on the right course. It says, “Govern the state with uprightness; use stratagem in war,” and also, “The deputy general stands on the left, the supreme general on the right.” Some passages seem to praise or criticize the hegemonic rulers of the Spring and Autumn period.

Some have doubted this account because the struggle for hegemony was not yet prominent in the time of King Zhao of Zhou, and therefore argue that Laozi transmitted the Dao De Jing during the reign of King Jing of Zhou. In fact, as the Xia and Shang dynasties declined, lords such as Kunwu, Dapeng, and Shiwei were already calling themselves bo, or leaders among the feudal lords. King Zhao’s southern campaign, from which he never returned after crossing the river, itself shows that the hegemonic spirit had already emerged. There was no need to wait until Qi, Chu, Qin, and Jin rose to prominence. This is also why Laozi’s Dao De Jing discusses both the achievements of governing and political strategy.

According to records of celestial phenomena, the three stars of the River Drum constellation symbolize the Son of Heaven’s three armies: the central star represents the supreme general, the left star the left general, and the right star the right general. The Rites of Zhou records that the Grand Marshal of the Xia Office commanded the Son of Heaven’s five armies, while a great state established three armies. The Mu Wang Nei Zhuan also says that after returning from his western journey, King Mu of Zhou climbed Mount Zhongnan and built a thatched tower. These accounts indicate that the Dao De Jing was transmitted during the reign of King Zhao of Zhou. Guan Yin himself also wrote a work in nine chapters called the Guan Yin Zi.

From this time onward, among his disciples was Gongsun Xinying of the State of Jin. The Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue writes “Xing” as “Yan.” His courtesy name was Jiran, and he had once studied with Laozi. In the second year of King Jing of Zhou, a Renwu year, he traveled south to the State of Chu. King Ping of Chu welcomed him with due ceremony and consulted him about the Dao. Later, he went to Yue, where Fan Li became his student. He passed on twelve books to Fan Li, collectively titled the Wenzi, which includes a chapter called “King Ping Asks about the Dao.” Goujian appointed him grandee.

When Yue was preparing to attack Wu, Fan Li urged Goujian: “Weapons are inauspicious things, and warfare goes against virtue. Secretly plotting what violates virtue and delighting in the use of inauspicious weapons will bring Heaven’s prohibition, and the undertaking will go badly.” These words are quoted from the Wenzi. Goujian did not heed the warning, and was defeated at Fuchiao and imprisoned in a stone chamber. Only after bribing Taizai Pi with valuables was he able to return home.

Goujian slept on brushwood and tasted gall, plotting revenge against Wu. After Yue had recovered its strength, Jiran said: “Goujian has a long neck and a pointed mouth. You can share hardship with him, but you cannot share ease.” Fan Li took his advice and set sail, roaming the Five Lakes. Jiran, too, feigned madness and withdrew to the area around Fengyu. He once climbed a mountain to plan his life in seclusion. Mount Jichou in present-day Wuxing is said to have been named for this.

Lie Yukou lived in the gardens of Zheng for forty years, unknown to anyone. In the fourth year of King An of Zhou, he completed a work of eight chapters expounding Laozi’s Dao.

Zhuang Zhou’s courtesy name was Zixiu, and he was known as Master Nanhua. In the thirtieth year of King Xian of Zhou, the State of Chu invited him to serve as its prime minister, but he declined. He lived in seclusion at the lacquer garden on the banks of the Hao River and wrote a work of fifty-three chapters titled the Zhuangzi. Thirty-three chapters have been handed down to the present day.

People such as Gengsang Chu, Nanrong Ju, Cui Qu, Bai Ju, Shicheng Qi, and Master Yin Wen all studied under Laozi in his time, learned and taught his Dao, and each left writings recorded in the classical texts. Yet Laozi had traveled through the regions of Shang and Zhou for many years. Perhaps only Confucius, who met Laozi in person and praised him as being like a dragon, ever saw him. Later, Sima Qian included Laozi and Han Fei in a single biography, and the record of Laozi’s disciples was lost. The learning exchanged between the schools of Confucius and Laozi was therefore not passed down to later generations. What a pity.

Chapter Nine: Journey West

In his later years, Laozi traveled west, crossing the Flowing Sands—the desert in the west—and climbed Mount Kunlun. He returned to the Upper Palace of Purple Tenuity, the dwelling of the celestial sovereign. Perhaps no one else ever saw him in person as Confucius did. Later, Sima Qian included Laozi and Han Fei in a single biography, and the record of Laozi’s disciples was lost. The learning exchanged between the schools of Confucius and Laozi was consequently not passed down to later generations. What a pity.

Chapter Nine: Journey West

In his later years, Laozi passed through the shifting sands, traveled west to Kunlun, and then ascended to the Palace Above the Purple Tenuity, the celestial palace. This showed that all things come to an end. After an ending comes a beginning, just as the seasons turn in succession. Hence the saying: “When your work is done and your reputation has flourished, withdraw—this is the Way of Heaven.” It is also said: “One who completes the work without claiming credit will not see the achievement fade.” “One who does not lose their root can endure; only when the body dies but the Dao does not perish can one be called long-lived.” Thus the sage observes the Way of Heaven and follows its patterns. In advancing or withdrawing, in acting or staying apart, the sage accords with transformation and endures without limit.

Mount Kunlun lies in the northwest of the earth. It rises more than ten thousand li and covers a vast area. It reaches upward to the Azure Firmament, and Fuli, the celestial realm of Daoist tradition, is there as well. In the Eight Trigrams drawn by Fuxi, Gen lies in the northwest; in King Wen’s arrangement of the trigrams, Qian occupies that direction. The earth has Kunlun as a person has a head. The northwest of the sky vault rises high, and the Gate of Heaven is there.

At Kunlun’s summit stand nine peaks, corresponding to the Nine Heavens. This is where the Supreme Emperor holds banquets and the assembled Perfected ascend. There are forests of jade trees, flowers of fine jade, plants of precious stone, and the Seven Treasures Grove. When the celestial wind stirs them, they ring like jewels, as if nature itself were playing the notes of the courtly scale. This is an immortal realm, naturally formed and wholly like jade.

According to the records, Mount Kunlun is a celebrated mountain at the center of the celestial realm, lying amid the Northern Sea and corresponding above to the heart of Heaven. It is shaped like an inverted canopy, broad at the top and narrow below, and divided into three tiers, with its summit touching the sky. The ecliptic and celestial equator meet on the mountain, and the sun, moon, and stars move from there. Its eastern side is called Kunlun, its western side Xuanpu, and its northern side Yueyuan. To the south it connects with Jishi Mountain, Lushui Spring, Beihu, and other mountains. On the mountain are the Palace of Jade Splendor, the Hall of Radiant Green, and the emerald waters of the Jade Pool. These are where the Queen Mother of the West and the immortals reside.

The four great mountains in the sea are branches of Kunlun. The Ten Continents and Three Isles, along with the great rivers that flow into the sea, all encircle Kunlun. At its summit are five golden terraces, twelve jade towers, and a golden wall stretching for a thousand li. The mountain grows trees with golden roots and forests with jade branches; among its rare treasures are purple sparrows, emerald luan birds, blue-green peaches, and white plums. Miaoyan, the Heavenly Lord of the Yellow Emperor, who holds the pivot, guards this mountain. Kunlun connects with the Five Sacred Peaks and the famous mountains of every region, and immortals often travel to and from it. There they inspect the registers of human life and death. The mountain governs the essence of Saturn and lies within the Heaven of the Central Primordial Qi.

The Five Sacred Peaks beyond the seas are the five mountains that stabilize Heaven and Earth; within the workings of creation, they are the sources of the five Qi. The author suggests that when Laozi ascended to Kunlun, he was perhaps returning once more to the Limitless, the undivided source of all things. Kunlun is where primordial Qi gathers and where the Celestial Emperor rules. Among ancient emperors, ministers, and high officials, those who had accomplished great deeds and cultivated great De, as well as those whose cultivation was profound and practice refined, could ascend to Kunlun. Those who defied the Way of Heaven and lost their grasp of its patterns could naturally never reach it.

It is also said that “immortal” carries the sense of moving or ascending. Daoist practitioners such as the Three Mao Lords and Zhang Fuhan in the Han dynasty, and Xu Jingyang and Ge Xiangong in the Jin dynasty, all brought their De to completion and succeeded in their cultivation of the Dao. At first they moved to famous mountains; later they ascended to the Ten Continents and Three Isles. Those who went on to Kunlun and became celestial officials in the upper realm could not only follow the same path as Laozi, but also accompany the Way of Heaven.

The Huainanzi records that Yu the Great cut through the strata beneath Mount Kunlun and discovered nine tiers of city walls inside the mountain, rising to a height of eleven thousand li. Grain trees grew atop the walls, each five xun tall. To the west stood pearl trees, jade trees, ring trees, and trees of immortality; to the east were sand pear trees and langgan trees; to the south stood crimson trees; and to the north were blue-green trees and jade trees. Beside the city were 440 gates, each four li apart. Between the roads were nine dividing lines, and nearby were nine wells.

At Kunlun’s northwest corner was a place called Jingyuheng. Its north gate stood open, admitting the wind from Mount Buzhou. There were sloping palaces and winding chambers, as well as the Hanging Garden, Mount Liangfeng, and Fantong, within Kunlun’s Changhe—the heavenly gate of Kunlun. Here lay the Sparse Garden, whose ponds watered the Yellow River. The Yellow River circled around it three times, then flowed back to its source. This water was called Cinnabar Water; drinking it granted long life and freedom from death.

The Yellow River rises at Kunlun’s northeast corner, flows past the Bohai Sea, and then enters Mount Jishi, which Yu the Great had cut channels through. The Red River rises at Kunlun’s southeast corner and flows southwest into the South Sea. East of Cinnabar Marsh and the Red River, the Weak River rises at Qiongshi and flows to Heli. Its remaining waters enter the flowing sands and run south as far as the South Sea. The Yang River rises at Kunlun’s northwest corner and flows into the South Sea, passing south of the land where the Feathered People live. These four rivers are all sacred springs of the Celestial Emperor; they can blend the various medicines and nourish all things.

Mount Kunlun’s heights sometimes rise another level, twice as high as before. This place is called Mount Liangfeng; those who climb it attain long life and freedom from death. A further level, again twice as high, is called Xuanyuan; those who climb it become spirits and command the wind and rain. Another level, rising twice as high again, reaches the heavenly realm; those who climb it become gods. This is called the dwelling place of the Great Emperor.

The Dao De Jing was composed by the official Yin Xi at the pass, who recorded the words of the Old Sage. The Old Sage’s teachings traced the beginnings of the world’s creation and the establishment of fundamental principles. They also described the way the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors governed in high antiquity, as well as the achievements of later kings and the power of the hegemons. Set down in more than five thousand characters, these teachings encompass the Dao of Heaven and human affairs, run through thousands of years, and present a clear sequence of events that can be examined and inferred.

The Jing speaks of thirty-two sages but gives none of their names, much like an anonymous history of high antiquity. It can serve as a guide for later generations, establish standards for personal conduct and the governance of the world, and lead people onto the path of sages and worthies. The Old Sage gathered accounts from ancient history to compose the Dao De Jing, while the Sage Confucius gathered records from the state of Lu to compose the Spring and Autumn Annals. Their purpose was the same.

Yet the book was not given the title “History”; it was called the Dao De because it carries the accounts and principles of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. In the official system of the Zhou dynasty, the Outer Historians were responsible for keeping records from across the realm and the texts of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Ancient books such as the Three Mounds and the Five Canons have been lost, and their contents are incomplete. Fortunately, this classic has survived in the world, preserving the ancient Dao from being lost.

To understand the Old Sage’s original intent, his repeated accounts of how the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors governed, and of their virtue, were meant to show people of his time the right path. In that age, the Way of the King and the Way of the Hegemon arose side by side, as rulers competed with one another in achievement and power. The Old Sage feared that this state of affairs would ultimately leave the people at a loss. He therefore hoped to restore a fragmented world to wholeness and turn a declining, shallow culture back toward honest simplicity. Even if the people could not return to the way of life of the Nine Sovereigns, could they not at least glimpse the peace and civilizing influence of the flourishing age of Tang Yao and Yu Shun?

Alas, sages are in communion with Heaven. Heaven has this mind, and sages have this mind; Heaven has this Dao, and sages have this Dao. Heaven does not act directly but entrusts its work to sages, and so Heaven can practice Wuwei (non-action). Sages do not take everything into their own hands but entrust matters to worthy people, and so sages, too, can practice Wuwei. The worthy, however, must act. Sages govern from above through non-action, while the worthy carry out their duties below. When ruler and ministers each fulfill their roles, the methods of governance work in harmony. This is why it is said, “Act through non-action.” It is also said, “With non-action, nothing is left undone.” This is because ruler and ministers each have their responsibilities, while the people, too, have their settled livelihoods and occupations.

In the mysterious and distant age of high antiquity, the whole world followed one Dao. In the time of Fuxi, the legendary ancient ruler, virtue was shared throughout the Four Seas. This way of governing, which appeared to be non-action, in fact accomplished much throughout the world. Whether the surface language speaks of non-action or action, its deeper purpose is to accord with the human heart and the principles of Heaven, and to accomplish and assist in the creative transformation of Heaven and Earth. The Jing refers to sages without giving their names. They may have been the nameless rulers of high antiquity, or ancient kings such as Fuxi, Xuanyuan, Yao, and Shun. Honoring the sages of antiquity also means showing respect for rulers of the present; allowing this Dao to endure is likewise a way of keeping the world at peace for generations.

The “Nameless One” may refer to the ruler of high antiquity whose name was never recorded, or perhaps to sage rulers such as Fuxi, Xuanyuan, Yao, and Shun. Honoring the sages of antiquity is a way of honoring the ruler of the present age. To keep this Way in transmission for a long time is also to keep the affairs of the world peaceful and stable.

Chapter and Commentary, Section Eleven

The Chapter-and-Commentary on the Dao De Jing was written by Heshang Gong. Emperor Wen of Han valued quietude and Wuwei (non-action), and once ordered his court officials to study the Laozi. At that time, no one had yet compiled chapter commentaries. The language of the Laozi was profound and its meaning far-reaching, making many passages difficult to understand. When Emperor Wen heard that an old man by the Yellow River understood the Laozi, he went in person to seek his instruction. The old man presented him with a scroll of the Laozi written on plain silk, explained its meaning, and divided the whole work into eighty-one chapters. He gave each chapter a two-character title to indicate its main idea, such as “Embodying the Dao,” “Nourishing the Self,” and “Bringing Peace to the People.” After this chapter commentary appeared, more people began to write commentaries on the Laozi.

Yet as the ages changed, people’s understanding of the Dao changed as well. Commentators often explained the text in line with the fashions of their own time and from the standpoint of their own preconceptions. Thus the Han commentaries became “the Laozi of the Han,” while the commentaries of the Jin, Tang, and Song each bore the character of their own dynasty. Some emphasized quietude and Wuwei; others discussed health practices such as breathing exercises and daoyin, or the cultivation of nature and life, fortune and misfortune, military strategy, punishments, and political techniques. Their views diverged, each establishing its own approach, yet none grasped the fundamental purpose of the Dao De Jing. Inner cultivation and the ordering of the world are the essential points. These interpretations failed to illuminate one another and instead contradicted one another—a real pity.

Guan Yin and Wenzi personally met Laozi, who was called “like a dragon,” yet the books they themselves wrote already differed considerably from Laozi’s original intent. Liezi and Zhuangzi lived only a few generations after Laozi, but their accounts of the principles of pure emptiness and the mysterious and remote went even further than his, almost inclining toward the laws of Heaven and away from human affairs. Sun Wu and Wu Qi applied the Dao of Laozi to military strategy, while Shen Buhai and Han Fei transformed it into methods of law and statecraft; they leaned too heavily toward human affairs and lost sight of the Way of Heaven. In light of this, for thousands of years no one has been able to verify these principles precisely. Yet Gai Gong and Cao Can governed through quietude and stability, opening the way to the peace and prosperity of the Han. They may be said to have understood how to put Laozi’s Dao into practice.

Consider, too, the titles Heshang Gong gave the chapters. Their meanings are subtle and mysterious, yet in fact they accord with the intent of the scripture. Commentators throughout the ages have not explained what these titles mean, leaving those who study the art of governing with something important missing. This is why the Original Intent was written. Here the chapter titles are omitted and the phrase “The scripture says” is used instead, in order to honor the classic. The meaning of the chapter titles is explained in the Original Intent, so each title and its related discussion are brought together in a single passage.

Comprehend the Great Dao, cultivate body and mind, and bring stability to the people. Trace the origins of the myriad things and understand the workings of emptiness, stillness, and Wuwei (non-action).

Follow nature as it gives rise to the myriad things; restrain your sharpness and keep your light concealed. Transform an obstinate temperament so that circumstances become smooth, and learn both when to act and when it is timely not to act.

Esteem Wuwei, restrain desires, take shame as a warning, and praise the mysterious Dao so that virtue may become manifest.

Return to the root and make customs simple and sincere. When society grows shallow and frivolous, guide people back to simplicity. Keep an open heart and remain true to yourself; deepen your humility. Contemplate the Dao of emptiness and understand how its beneficence nurtures and transforms the myriad things.

Esteem the virtue of the origin and use things well without straying from the Dao. Return to simplicity, practice Wuwei, value frugality, and put an end to the use of force. Use the virtue of the sage to halt war, discern virtue, let things come naturally to completion, and put benevolence into practice.

See principle in what is subtle; govern affairs through Dao and virtue. Clarify virtue, take laws and measures as your foundation without becoming bound by their practical applications. Distinguish sameness from difference, teach in accordance with the Dao, apply its teachings broadly, and establish precepts. Uphold great virtue, restrain desire, see clearly into the distant future, and do not act recklessly through cleverness. Follow the nature of virtue and cherish life.

Cultivate virtue and return to the origin. Deepen your practice and realization, contemplate the mysterious, and grasp profound principles. Use mysterious De (Virtue/Power) to make customs simple and sincere; adapt to change while holding to the Dao, and remain settled in your place. Humility is the foundation of following the Dao, and from it beneficence begins. Guard what is subtle, preserve sincere virtue, and yield in every circumstance.

Take the “Three Treasures”—compassion, frugality, and not daring to be first under Heaven—as your guiding principles. Follow the Way of Heaven and understand the mysterious workings. Know the difficulty of knowing; recognize illness and cherish yourself. Act as circumstances require, using this to put an end to delusion and greed and to diminish arrogance and force. Be wary of vaunting your strength and follow the Way of Heaven. Keep faith and honor agreements; remain independent and true to yourself, revealing your unadorned nature.

Chapter Twelve of the Zuanxuan (“Compendium of the Mysterious”).

The Zuanxuan gathers the essential teachings of the Daodejing, the classic in five thousand words. Laozi said, “Words have their roots; actions have their guiding authority.” This means that everything I say has a basis and comes from the words of the sages of antiquity. Laozi’s way of governing the world was originally easy to understand and put into practice. Why, then, have people throughout the world still been unable either to understand it or to follow it?

Confucius honored the traditions of Yao and Shun and took the institutions of Kings Wen and Wu of Zhou as his model. Though all drew from the Way of the ancient sages, they used different names for it. After meeting Laozi, Confucius once sought his instruction on ritual. When he returned, he humbly compared himself to a follower in Laozi’s school. Confucius was skilled at explaining the ancient Way and trusted the teachings of those who came before him; this shows that he must have grasped something of it in his own time.

Now I have written the Yuanzhi, which clarifies the principles of the Daodejing, and have gone further by tracing its main points sentence by sentence and compiling them in the Zuanxuan for readers. Readers can use related examples to verify the sentences, the sentences to verify the chapters, and the chapters to understand the principles. In this way, perhaps the original intention behind the words of the Mysterious Sage—Laozi—can be made clear to the people of the world, now and in generations to come. How could anyone who discusses the art of governing a state overlook this?

The Dao (the Way).

A Dao (the Way) that can be explained in words is not the eternal, unchanging Dao. What can endure in its workings and enable people to live long and see far is the enduring Dao. To model oneself on the Dao is to take Heaven as one’s guide. When people of the highest understanding hear the teachings of the Dao, they diligently put them into practice. The bright Great Dao seems obscure; the level Great Dao seems rough. Advancing along the Dao can at times look like retreating. It is better to sit quietly and make gradual progress within the Dao. Those who truly see the Dao need not peer out through a window to understand the way of Heaven.

Those who cultivate the Dao gradually diminish their selfish desires. The sage acts without contending with others. There is nothing among the myriad things that does not honor the Dao and cherish the De (Virtue/Power) it brings to fruition. The working of the Dao of Heaven is to withdraw once things have been accomplished and a name established. It does not contend, yet excels at overcoming; it shows no partiality, yet often helps the good. The Dao of Heaven benefits the myriad things without harming them, diminishing what is in excess and replenishing what is insufficient. The ways of the human world are different: they often take from those who have too little to provide for those who have too much.

To follow the ancient Dao is to hold fast to the Dao handed down from antiquity. Why did those in ancient times who were skilled in following the Dao value it so highly? Because those who possess the Dao do not occupy the position of ruler over all under Heaven. In an age when the Dao prevails, warhorses are sent home to plow the fields. Who can diminish what is in excess and use it to provide for all under Heaven? Only those who possess the Dao.

Only after the Great Dao was abandoned did people begin speaking of benevolence and righteousness. The Great Dao is vast and boundless, passable in every direction. It is broad and level, yet people prefer to take narrow paths. If I had even a little understanding, I would walk along the Great Dao. Those who turn away from the Dao soon reach their end; how could that be called the Dao? Only when the Dao is lost do people speak of De; when De is lost, they speak of benevolence; when benevolence is lost, they speak of righteousness.

To know the beginning of antiquity is to grasp the guiding thread of the Dao. Relying only on foresight and using reasoning to guide people is the Dao’s superficial flourish, and the beginning of folly. The Dao is the hidden refuge of the myriad things and the foundation worthy of reverence. The Dao takes what is natural as its model. The eternal Dao has no name. It seems to practice Wuwei (non-action), yet there is nothing it cannot accomplish. The Dao gives birth to the myriad things, and from it they are born.

The Dao is vast and profound, yet often seems insufficient. In establishing oneself and building De, one appears to follow a set order. To accumulate De without ceasing and put it into practice early is called having deep roots. A person who embodies De keeps faith as one who holds a tally keeps its terms; a person without De, by contrast, acts like one who administers taxes and punishments, using laws and orders to supervise others. The bearing displayed by a person of great De is “great De”—vast and profound De.

There is nothing among the myriad things that does not revere the Dao and prize De. Profound De gives life to the myriad things but does not rule over them; this is called “mysterious De,” deep and natural De. Always understanding and following the guiding principles is also called mysterious De.

When constant De is never lost, a person can return to the unspoiled simplicity of an infant. When constant De is without fault, a person can return to the limitless source. When constant De is full and complete, a person can return to uncarved, original simplicity.

High De, the highest level of De, does not deliberately display itself as De. High De acts naturally, without seeking anything, with a mind as open and spacious as a valley. Low De clings to keeping hold of De; it acts with purpose and a definite aim. High De does not consider itself to possess De, and so it does not contend. This is called the De of non-contention.

When De meets with De, they share the same De; those who accord with De also receive a response from De. Cultivate genuine De within yourself, and De becomes genuine; cultivate it in your family, and De becomes abundant; cultivate it in your village, and De endures; cultivate it in your state, and De grows rich; put it into practice throughout the world, and De spreads throughout the world.

With profound De, one can nurture profound De. When others treat people unkindly, I still treat them with kindness: this is De’s goodness. When others are untrustworthy, I still treat them with sincerity: this is De’s trustworthiness. De nourishes the myriad things, and for this reason De is precious.

In primordial time, there was a unified existence that came into being before Heaven and Earth. It returns from the Limitless to the Limitless. Even at the utmost point of emptiness and stillness, it remains empty and still, steadfast and unmoving. What is called the ancient root can be matched with Heaven; it is the ancient root. It has no beginning and no name. It is the origin of Heaven and Earth. To know this ancient origin is to grasp the guiding principle of the Dao.

With this root, all things under Heaven have their beginning; it may be regarded as the mother of all things under Heaven. It has no form, yet is the image of the formless. If one says it has an image, it is indistinct and elusive, with what seems to be an image within it. The greatest image has no fixed form. It has no beginning and no name; it is the origin of Heaven and Earth. To know this ancient origin is to grasp the guiding principle of the Dao.

With this root, all things under Heaven have their beginning; it may be regarded as the mother of all things under Heaven. It has no form, yet is the image of the formless. If one says it has an image, it is indistinct and elusive, with what seems to be an image within it. The greatest image has no fixed form. Grasp the image of the Great Dao, and all things under Heaven will turn toward it. It came before every image, and before the spirits revered by emperors. It accords with the profound and mysterious Dao; this is called “mystery.” When the mysterious reaches a still deeper level, it is “mystery upon mystery.”

It is dim and obscure, yet within it lies a subtle essence; indistinct and elusive, yet within it lies a real presence. It is the root of Heaven and Earth, the gate from which the myriad mysteries emerge, and the gate of the “Mysterious Female”—the subtle mother that symbolizes the generation of all things. Deep and hidden, it seems to be the source of all things.

Heaven and Earth

Before Heaven and Earth appeared, this was called the beginning of Heaven and Earth. Heaven and Earth show no favor to anything; they regard all things as straw dogs used in sacrifice, allowing them to change naturally. Is the space between Heaven and Earth not like a bellows? The “gate of the Mysterious Female” is the root of Heaven and Earth. Heaven is enduring and Earth lasts long—but what makes them so?

Between Heaven and Earth there is a unified existence that came into being before them. When the Qi of Heaven and Earth joins, sweet dew descends. Heaven receives the One—the unified root of the Dao—and becomes clear; Earth receives the One and becomes peaceful.

All Things

Once things appear, they are said to be born from the mother of all things. The Dao neither rejects nor interferes with their growth and movement. Deep and hidden, it seems to be the source of all things. Water is skilled at nourishing all things, yet does not contend with them. All things rise together; from this I observe how they return to their root. When things join, sweet dew descends. Heaven receives the One and becomes clear; Earth receives the One and becomes peaceful.

All Things

All things arise from “being,” which is the mother of all things. As they grow and move, the Dao does not turn away from them. Deep and still, it seems to be their source. Water nourishes all things well and does not contend with them. As all things grow together, I observe how they return to their root. All things naturally return to the Dao. They rely on the Dao to come into being, and the Dao does not turn away from them. It cherishes and nurtures all things without ruling over them. All things transform naturally. By receiving the One—the Dao as their unified source—they are able to live. All things under Heaven arise from “being”: “The Dao gives birth to the One; the One gives birth to Two; Two gives birth to Three,” and then to all things. All things carry Yin and embrace Yang, blending and harmonizing the two vital energies. Nothing fails to follow the Dao or to honor De (Virtue/Power).

When plants and trees grow, they are soft and fragile. In the end, all things return to nonbeing. The Dao blends indistinguishably with all things, and strange phenomena arise one after another. When things reach the height of their strength, they move toward decline. The Dao is the root of the many things. Its name does not disappear, so through it we can observe the source of all things.

All Under Heaven

When people under Heaven recognize beauty as beautiful, ugliness appears alongside it. Only one who regards their own person as precious as all under Heaven can be entrusted with all under Heaven; only one who regards their own person as worthy of care as all under Heaven can be given its charge. The sage therefore holds fast to the One as the standard for all under Heaven, and can become the mother of all things. If one can treat all under Heaven without recklessness, one can become its stream and its standard. To govern all under Heaven, one should be humble like a stream lying low and receiving every river, and should also become its standard. Those who seek to take all under Heaven and force their will upon it often fail to achieve their aim. All under Heaven is a sacred vessel: it cannot be controlled by displaying force. Otherwise, one cannot fulfill one’s aspirations.

No one under heaven dares not to submit to it. When the Dao moves through the world, it is like holding fast to the Great Image—the complete pattern of the Dao. All things under heaven naturally turn toward it, and the world returns of its own accord to the right path. If the lords and kings can grasp the One, the root of the Dao, they can become models for all under heaven.

All things under heaven arise from being. Yet nothing under heaven is better at passing through what is hardest than what is most soft and yielding. Stillness and purity can become the right path for the world. In governing the world, one should generally act through Wuwei (non-action) and avoid disturbing the people. When the world is in accord with the Dao, warhorses are sent back to the fields to plow. When the world departs from the Dao, warhorses breed in the outskirts, and conflict is about to begin.

The sage lives among all under heaven and acts with care, without rashness, so that the people’s hearts return to simplicity. When the Dao is applied to governing the world, De (Virtue/Power) can be practiced everywhere. By viewing the world as a whole, one can become what the world holds in highest regard. Governing the world through Wuwei is precisely why people gladly support the ruler and do not grow weary of him.

The more prohibitions there are under heaven, the poorer the people become. When the world is governed by the Dao, even spirits and ghosts cannot cause trouble. A great state should be like the lower reaches of a river: it should remain low, becoming the place where all under heaven converge and meet. The difficult tasks under heaven must begin with what is easy; the great undertakings under heaven must begin with what is small.

People gladly support the ruler and do not grow weary of him because he does not contend with them. Because he does not contend, no one under heaven can contend with him. The ruler does not dare to place himself ahead of the people; for that reason, the people find it difficult to understand and imitate him. Who can take what is in surplus and use it to nourish all under heaven? Of all things under heaven, nothing is softer and more yielding than water, yet nothing surpasses it in becoming the ruler of all under heaven.

When a state has too many sharp tools, society falls into greater disorder. When a state is in disorder, loyal ministers appear. If a state can hold to the roots of good governance, it can endure for a long time.

Neighboring states can see one another. Can they govern their states and care for their people without needless interference? A state should be governed by the right way. Governing a large state is like cooking a small fish: keep turning it over, and it will easily fall apart. Governing through clever schemes and stratagems brings disaster to a state; governing without them brings it good fortune.

A large state should be humble, like the lower reaches of a river, becoming a place where all under Heaven gather and meet. When a large state is humble toward small states, it can win their trust and allegiance. All a large state seeks is to nurture the people while making room for all. When a small state is humble toward a large state, it can gain the larger state’s support. All a small state seeks is shelter beneath the larger state and the chance to serve it.

A small state has few people, and its people live simply. Govern a state, and let its De (Virtue/Power) grow abundant; govern a family, and let the family’s De be plentiful; govern a village, and let the village’s De endure. To understand a village, look to the village itself; to understand a state, look to the state itself; to understand a family, look to the family itself.

“The highest” refers to the most skillful ruler. When such a ruler is in power, the people know only that there is a ruler.

Thus the sage acts through Wuwei (non-action). The sage’s governance, too, follows Wuwei. The sage neither favors the people out of private feeling nor makes harsh demands of them. By placing himself behind others, the sage is able to lead them.

To understand a village, look to the village itself; to understand a state, look to the state itself; to understand a family, look to the family itself.

“The highest” refers to the most skillful ruler. When such a ruler is in power, the people know only that there is a ruler.

Therefore, the sage handles affairs through Wuwei (non-action). In governing the world, sages do not treat people with private favoritism. By placing themselves behind everyone else, they are able to come to the fore. They attend to people’s inner needs rather than chasing external pleasures of sound and spectacle. They hold fast to “embracing the One”—keeping to the root and returning to unity—as the world’s guiding principle.

Sages are always good at helping others. They make good use of people’s abilities and can therefore become leaders of the people. They cast off extremes, extravagance, and excess, and never regard themselves as great. They can understand the world without leaving home and do not cling to their own opinions. Though they live among the people, sages cherish them all as children. Thus the sage says, “I practice Wuwei, and the people are naturally transformed.”

Sages are upright without harming others, and do not rigidly divide things by imposing rules. Even when they must act, they proceed with care. Sages follow nature and so do not bring failure upon themselves; people, too, should not cling to an unchanging state of mind. Among the people, sages regard them all as children, and so they say, “I practice Wuwei, and the people are naturally transformed.” Sages are upright without being harsh and do not harm others; they act carefully and are therefore less likely to fail.

What sages seek is what ordinary people do not want. Even when they wish to stand above others, they speak to them with humility. Though they occupy a high position, the people do not feel oppressed. Sages wear coarse cloth on the outside and hold jade within, a metaphor for appearing plain while being precious within. They do not worry about their own deficiencies. They know themselves without making a show of themselves; they accomplish things without relying on their achievements.

Sages often say: it is like holding the left half of a tally—a half of an ancient contract—yet making no claim against anyone. Sages do not hoard possessions. The sage’s way is to accomplish things without contending with others.

Ruler and ministers (the ruler and his subjects).

The Son of Heaven is established for this reason, and the Three Dukes (high officials who assist the ruler) are appointed for this reason. The ruler holds a high position, and the Heavenly King holds an even higher one. Only by following the Dao of Heaven can a ruler truly be called king of all under Heaven. Those who assist a ruler through the Dao do not use force to dominate the world. How could the lord of ten thousand chariots (a ruler of a great state) treat all under Heaven lightly? The ruler who governs the altars of soil and grain (the state) must truly shoulder the responsibility of protecting it.

Among vessels, the greatest does not dare to place itself first in the world, and so it can become the leader of vessels. The sage appoints officials to lead, making them leaders; a ruler must accord with the Dao of Heaven to be worthy of being its counterpart. This has been the rule since antiquity.

Dukes and kings often call themselves “orphaned,” “bereft,” or “unworthy”—self-effacing titles that suggest isolation or insufficient virtue. Though they occupy exalted positions, they should remain humble. The Three Dukes are appointed to assist the ruler. If lords and kings can hold fast to the Great Dao, they will attain the One, the fundamental Dao, and thereby become the standard for all under Heaven. If they cannot use the Dao to set themselves straight, they should not rely solely on their exalted rank. Lords and kings call themselves orphaned, bereft, and unworthy because, from their place on the throne, they can be like the king of the valleys, receiving and nurturing all things.

A ruler’s words should have a foundation, and his actions should have a guiding principle; agitation makes him lose his command. Only when a state is in turmoil do loyal ministers become evident. Arrogance and rashness cause a ruler to lose his ministers. Though the plain, unadorned Dao seems small, all under Heaven dare neither slight nor control it.

The Scholar and the Gentleman

In ancient times, those skilled in cultivating the Dao were subtle and profound, reaching into the hidden depths. Those skilled in cultivating the Dao did not flaunt their courage or fight fiercely. When the highest type of scholar hears of the Dao, they diligently put it into practice; when the middle type hears of it, they half believe and half doubt; when the lowest type hears of it, they laugh.

Thus, the gentleman goes about his daily affairs without leaving his baggage train—the vehicles that carry necessities on a journey—as a reminder not to forget the root. In ordinary life, the gentleman regards the left as honorable. Weapons are inauspicious objects, not tools a gentleman values. In conducting himself, the great man should choose substance and simplicity, not superficiality and frivolity.

Father and Son

I will take these words as the foundation of instruction. Only when the six relationships—parents and children, brothers, spouses, and other kin—are in discord do filial devotion and parental kindness become especially evident. [The original text ends here with “the people return,” meaning that the people once again …]