《南華真經義海纂微》Vol. 6

Zhuangzi Yihai Zuanwei, Scroll Seven

Xue of Wushi, Daoist Priest Chuboxiu

“Ren Jian Shi” (The Human World), Chapter One

Yan Hui went to see Confucius and asked permission to travel. Confucius asked, “Where are you going?” Yan Hui answered, “To the state of Wei.” Confucius asked again, “What will you do there?”

Yan Hui said, “I have heard that the ruler of Wei is in the prime of life and acts arbitrarily. He governs the state rashly yet does not see his own faults. He levies the people lightly but the dead and wounded are many; corpses litter the land like withered plants and wasted marshes, and the people have nowhere to turn. I once heard the Master say: leave a well-governed state; go to a troubled one. I wish to apply what I have learned to help Wei, in the hope that the state may improve somewhat.”

Confucious said, “Alas—if you go this way, you will likely meet with death. The Way must not be jumbled; jumbling multiplies things, multiplication brings turmoil, turmoil breeds calamity, and under calamity the situation cannot be saved. The ancient sages (zhiren, those of utmost attainment) first established themselves, then helped others. Your own footing is not yet firm—how can you attend to a tyrant’s conduct? Moreover, do you know how virtue (de) is ruined and how cleverness (zhi) arises?

“Virtue is ruined by chasing reputation; cleverness is born from rivalry. Those who chase reputation undermine one another, and cleverness becomes a tool of contention. Both are dangerous implements and cannot be used to spread the Way (Dao). Even if your virtue is deep and your word trustworthy, you may still fail to read another’s mind; even if you shun fame yet fame spreads, you may still fail to know people’s hearts. If before such a tyrant you forcefully preach benevolence, righteousness, and law, making him feel you are parading your own excellence—that is called ‘harming people.’ Whoever harms others will surely be harmed in return. You may well become the victim.

“Besides, if you merely wish to please the worthy and dislike the unworthy, why travel there to play the exceptional role? If you do not admonish the ruler of Wei, he will surely suppress others and vie for superiority; his gaze will grow confused because of your words, his face will change, his speech will sharpen, anger will show—and inwardly he will already have decided how to deal with you. That is like fighting fire with fire or water with water: the trouble only piles higher. Follow the opening drift of events and the bother never ends. If with loyal words he does not trust you go to counsel such a violent man, you will likely die before him.

“In former times, Jie of Xia killed Guan Longfeng and Zhou of Shang killed Prince Bi Gan. Each had cultivated himself and humbly cared for the people, yet offended his lord. The ruler used their cultivation as a pretext to ostracize and destroy them—that is how love of a good name brought disaster. Formerly, Yao attacked the states of Congzhi and Xu’ao, and Yu attacked Youhu; states were reduced to ruins, the people suffered, and the rulers themselves met punishment. They used arms…”

Should you not put an end to this endless striving? These people all chase reputation and tangible gain. Have you not heard? Reputation and practical profit—even a sage cannot wholly rise above them, still less someone in your position.

Yet you surely have your own way. Come—try to tell me.”

Yan Hui said, “If I straighten my mind, hold to emptiness and stillness, and strive to be single-minded—would that do?”

Confucius said, “How could it be so easy! To take what you regard as ample yang qi and use it to stir up sounds and colors, with moods swinging high and low—that is what ordinary people do, and they would not treat it as wrong. To watch how others react when provoked, then scheme to get along with them and win their favor, and call that ‘virtue that grows day by day’—even such virtue is hard to achieve, how much more great virtue? If you cling to your own views and refuse to change, outwardly going along while inwardly resisting, how can that work?”

Yan Hui said again, “Then if I am upright within yet yielding on the outside, and take the ancients as my model—would that do?

“To be upright within is to be a companion of Heaven (tian wei tu). One who is a companion of Heaven knows that the ruler and oneself are alike children nurtured by Heaven—why should one care only whether one’s words win praise, or take offense when others do not praise? If one can be like this, people will take one for an innocent child. This is called ‘being a companion of Heaven.’

“To be yielding on the outside is to move among people (ren wei tu). Raising the hand, kneeling, bowing, and speaking with respectful deference are the rites a subject should perform. Everyone does them—how could I dare not? To do as everyone does is not to be blamed by others. This is called ‘moving among people.’

“To take the ancients as one’s model is to be a companion of the ancients (gu ren wei tu). Even when my words teach or correct others, the principles I speak are truly those of old—not inventions of mine alone. Then even if my speech is blunt, it need not count as fault. This is called ‘being a companion of the ancients.’ Would this do?”

Confucius said, “How could it be so easy! You put forward too many schemes for setting names right and keeping to rules, without unfolding the reasons fully. To stand firm in one’s position may not yet be guilt—but one can only get this far; how could it make people truly change? You are still taking your own mind as the measure.”

He has already said all there is to say. What you must do now is go back and practice De (Virtue/Power) and trustworthiness, so that the other party understands what he did not grasp before. Yet even if you try to bind him with standards of benevolence and righteousness, he will think you wish to ruin him so that you may rise; he will surely turn and harm you. If, on the other hand, he is pleased and treats the worthy as good men, and as soon as he hears words that accord with the Way he at once believes them, then he will naturally become an enlightened ruler and will have worthy ministers to assist him. If you go this time, you may well bring no change and instead suffer injury. You had better keep silent and not speak; once you speak, he will rely on the sovereign’s power to argue with you, parade strength and gloss over wrong, until you are dazzled and have no footing. You will not have time to protect yourself, let alone correct him, and in the end you will abandon your principles and go along with him. That will not save him but will only feed his wrongdoing.

Long ago Long Feng and Bi Gan, though in subordinate positions, took upon themselves the ruler’s anxieties about governing the state, and for that they were put to death by their lords. Tyrants do not only wish to satisfy desire; they also want a good name, only their ways of seeking fame and indulging desire are not on the right path. A ruler who cherishes reputation yet craves pleasure is not necessarily moved even by Yao and Yu; how much less can you go empty-handed to reform him?

Yan Hui said, “If I straighten my bearing, empty my heart within, and speak humbly without wavering back and forth, would that do?”

Confucius said, “How could it? How would you guard against him? His nature is fierce and unyielding, his heart full of desire, and he flaunts it outward. When anything touches him, he crushes others to feed his extravagant heart. Such a man will seize you and not let go; he will not be moved at all. How could that work?”

Yan Hui offered three further approaches: inward uprightness in accord with Heaven’s Way; outward tact in accord with human feelings; and conduct that is steady and looks to the ancients. Confucius still held that these would not do, because such ways could not mesh with the other’s policies and manner of acting. Even if they were not lofty, they might keep Yan Hui from guilt, but they were still insufficient to transform the other. Yan Hui would go with these three methods while still carrying preconceptions in his heart, unable to respond without fixed intent.

Lü Huiqing’s commentary says: Yan Hui was young and impetuous, so he lightly wished to step into that state’s affairs; going alone, he also slighted the plight of the people there. One who is willing to give his life for great affairs of state ought to receive deep and broad recompense and care, but favor there was thin and the people had no recourse. Yan Hui thought to humble himself and uphold the Way; Confucius did not approve, because mixed and tangled doctrines do not necessarily save anyone. One should first settle oneself, then settle others, so as not to be trapped between advance and retreat. Now Yan Hui was not yet settled in himself; how could he intervene in what the tyrant was doing?

When De flows outward as display, and wisdom is shown, they become tools of contention. Yet deep De and sincerity are enough to reach people’s hearts so that they do not become crude and perverse; not contending for rank and name is enough to reach people’s hearts so that they do not become suspicious and doubtful.

Only after one has reached this stage may one speak with him. I have not yet attained that level, yet I insist on using talk of benevolence, righteousness, and law to enlighten a tyrant. Though such a person may believe his intentions are good, others will resent him.

If the other party cherishes reputation, you press him with reputation; if he cherishes cleverness and artifice, you outdo him with cleverness. That steers him toward dangerous means and invites disaster. From the source of his words and deeds one can foresee their outcome; to go on this way will likely bring only calamity.

Suppose the ruler loves the worthy and hates the unworthy—his view matches yours, so why deliberately differ? When you speak to him, he will assent with his lips but not truly listen. Then he is sure to seize the chance to show his strength, contend with others, and treat quick wit as a contest of victory and defeat; his look turns harsh, his eyes bright and fixed, his mind already decided. You will be hard pressed even to withdraw and comply in time. It is like using water to save water or fire to fight fire—such contending along the momentum has no end. He does not expect honesty and good faith from you, yet you go to persuade him—you are bound to die before the tyrant.

Long ago Guan Longfeng and Bi Gan cultivated themselves and brought peace to the people, yet their rulers suspected them of winning hearts thereby and killed them; they were regarded as mere seekers of fame. Even Yao and Yu, facing distant states, could not bring them to allegiance and in the end had to destroy them. Thus fame and real effect—even sages could not fully command them—how much less you?

Outward rectitude and inward clarity are not true emptiness and stillness; forcing singleness of mind is not true singleness. Pride and self-sufficiency in the heart show outward, stir others’ feelings, all to satisfy one’s own wish. Lesser virtue is not yet achieved—how much less great virtue? To persuade a ruler in this way can at most yield outward agreement and inward dissent—how could one transform him?

To use one’s own words to demand that others improve or decline is to stand low yet treat others as far above. From the perspective of the Dao (the Way), the Son of Heaven and oneself are both children of Heaven—what difference is there between them? To walk with Heaven’s way, with the people of the age, and with the ancients—that is how to meet change. Hui (Yan Hui) thought that relying on these three to meet change might suffice; but to deal with outward things in this manner still falls short of single-minded non-intention, and so one does too much.

When facing outward things, one entrusts oneself to the upright way; when facing the ancients, one governs people by their standards, without personal likes and dislikes. If one thereby changes one’s original understanding, one has not truly probed the other. “Probing” means secretly gauging another’s mind and acting accordingly; though careful and without fault, it may still fail to transform him, because one remains master of one’s own intent and has not yet achieved non-intention.

A gloss on “doubtful solitude” states: those in the prime of life have forceful vigor; those who act alone have isolated virtue. Thus they rashly deploy the state’s power, and the people die and are wounded like common weeds. The worthy, regarding the state…

This is like a physician treating illness: the root of governing a state lies in having a worthy ruler; if the ruler is worthy, there is no need for remedies like those of medicine. When the state is chaotic and cannot be governed, worthy people will go forth bearing their skills. When the sick flock to doctors, rulers who hold states also often seek worthy people. You hope to apply the teachings and methods you heard from the Master to Wei—perhaps that might ease Wei’s sickness somewhat.

Confucius thought your abilities were still shallow—not enough to transform Wei’s ruler. The sage holds unity in the heart and can become a model for the world; what you have learned is mixed and many-sided. Facing such a ruler, you can only worry—you will find it hard to heal him. You should first settle your own mind within. When you have done so, others will understand even if you do not speak; when you are not yet settled, how can you spare effort to push your principles before a tyrannical ruler?

Once virtue gains a reputation, it easily scatters; once knowledge stirs dispute, it shows itself. Virtue and knowledge are like dangerous weapons—they cannot be wielded in the world without restraint. Only when nourishing qi reaches fullness can you penetrate others’ qi; only when nourishing the heart reaches stillness can you penetrate others’ hearts. If you cannot do this yet and rely only on rules and laws, going before a tyrant to reason with him, he will surely resent the fine virtue you take pride in and may harm you.

Moreover, if the ruler of Wei truly loved the worthy and hated the unworthy, why would he need you to appear different from others? You had better say nothing; if you speak, he will certainly use his power as ruler to argue with you. Outwardly you cannot help showing expression, and inwardly you will follow along. Once you follow him at the start, it will go on without end. If you do not believe this earnest warning, you will surely die before the tyrant.

In the past, Guan Longfeng and Bizi cultivated themselves and wished to settle ruler and people—yet the rulers harmed them because of it. That is the disaster of pursuing reputation too far. The states of Congzhi, Xu’ao, and Youhu attacked one another over fame and gain; even Yao and Yu could not transform them by persuasion and had to raise armies to punish them, until the states were emptied and the rulers themselves were killed and the matter stopped. From this it is clear that those who chase fame and profit find it hard to preserve themselves.

Yan Hui again urged the Master to keep upright bearing and empty stillness and to strive for singleness of purpose. The Master said the ruler of Wei only seemed full on the surface while being swayed within; small virtue could not even be achieved—how much less great virtue? Yan Hui then offered three approaches: harmonizing with people, following Heaven’s way, and taking the ancients as teachers—perhaps one could escape the harm the world brings. The Master still disagreed: do not take on too much government and law, and do not chatter while peering and watching in secret. Secret watching carries the sense of spying; even if your manner is firm, you may not be guilty of crime, but as soon as you talk of inner and outer, past and present, you still risk the world’s harm. If you can grasp the natural course of change in all things…

Having said this, are the Way of Heaven and human affairs, antiquity and the present, really so different? Only one without deliberate mind can achieve this.

Commentary on the Detailed Dao: The perfected person (zhiren) lives in the world without scheming in advance, yet is enough to win over those who live by calculation; without forcing action, yet is enough to dissolve the anxieties of those who strive to act. Why? Because when something stirs them, they respond; when urgency touches them, they move—they do not exhaust themselves treating the affairs of the world as a personal burden.

Yan Hui knew that governing the world might call for thought and effort, but did not know that one can meet all things with non-thought and non-action (wusi, wuwei). He wanted to correct the cruel excesses of the ruler of Wei and rescue the people from distress. Confucius therefore criticized his approach as disorderly and disruptive. The perfected person first cultivates the self and holds to unity; only then influences others and becomes a standard for the world. When one’s own foundation is not yet firm and one goes to meddle with what a tyrant is doing, trouble is invited.

What is called De (Virtue/Power) is the reality behind a name; when the label outweighs the reality, De is harmed. What is called knowledge is a tool people use to outdo one another; once rivalry arises, cleverness shows itself. Deep virtue and solid sincerity are inner cultivation; those who do not yet understand this chase reputation on the outside and do not contend with others. Not knowing the human heart, they press a tyrant with talk of office, righteousness, and rules. When acquaintance is shallow and words go too deep, hatred is the usual result.

Yan Hui thought he loved the worthy and hated the unworthy, yet might end dead before a tyrant. This case shows that displaying cleverness invites disaster. From King Jie of Xia killing Guan Longfeng down through later examples, the lesson is the same: fame also brings calamity; even a sage cannot overpower a tyrant by force of reputation.

Yan Hui straightened emptiness and stillness and strove to hold the One, intending to fill himself with yang qi. Filling oneself with yang qi inwardly brings natural sufficiency. At first he wanted to use wisdom to relieve the world’s woes; finding that would not work, he tried to rein wisdom in and return to empty stillness and holding the One. When that too failed, he sought to unite empty stillness and holding the One with two other ways of living in the world.

To be a companion of Heaven is to go forward in one’s upright nature without gauging others’ good and evil; to be a companion of people is to act in ways the multitude can accept without violating their taboos; to be a companion of antiquity is to set forth old stories to admonish the present without inviting blame for it. Straightening emptiness and stillness and striving to hold the One, if held rigidly, is not yet enough to count as De. Those who think change is unnecessary do not understand flexible responsiveness. The so-called three ways are still reading expressions and adapting on the spot—not yet enough to count as the art of governance. If one has not oneself reached change and penetration, how can one transform others?

Bixu commentary: To deploy a state’s strength lightly shows one does not truly value the state; to throw the people into death lightly shows one does not truly value their lives. When the dead are beyond counting, one measures them by the population of the realm… (The closing line of the source text appears corrupt—“故以国量蕉者质”—so the precise sense cannot be determined with confidence.)

Many of the people of Wei died or were wounded; corpses piled up like cut grass and trees. Though the ruler showed kindness, it was like a plantain that flowers but bears no fruit—the people had nowhere left to turn. Yan Hui said, “The gates of Wei’s healers are crowded with the sick; I wish to go and find a way to help them.”

Confucius said, “Do not make what you say too long or too mixed, or you will only confuse people. First settle yourself and establish your root. If your own root is not yet firm, how can you transform others? Reputation can make one lose virtue; flaunting cleverness stirs up strife. Only when people do not contend for name and victory are they said to have a great name; only when they do not compete with others are they said to have great wisdom. Without contending and without showing off cleverness can one carry the Way through to the end.

“Yet you would take the doctrines of Confucian benevolence and righteousness, Mohist universal love, and the like, and force them upon a tyrant in argument—that will only make him detest the virtues you praise and may well bring disaster on yourself.

“If you merely honor the worthy and keep the devious at a distance, that is already wise and penetrating; why seek strange expedients? The lord of Wei may rely on his power to argue and match wits with you. Then his words will dazzle and startle you; outwardly you must seem calm while inwardly you force yourself to endure. What you say will falter as it leaves your mouth, and your bearing will go awry. Once the mind fixes on a preconceived view, it loses its hold and spins with the other’s words without end, until at last it falls into what goes against the Way. If you do not trust this counsel, when you face the tyrant you will likely die.”

Confucius then cited Long Feng and Bi Gan as proof that remonstrating before a ruler without the Way invites death. Before one without the Way, the difference between compliance and resistance is stark; before one with the Way, that distinction need not be clung to. In antiquity Yao and Yu faced rebellion in three states and could not transform them by words—they had to send armies to crush them. Yan Hui wished to transform the lord of Wei with empty talk; it would not help and would only bring harm. Upright conduct with an insincere heart, striving to remonstrate without single-mindedness, outward pride and self-satisfaction—all make one hard to accept. Human nature cannot be forced to change; how could the lord of Wei be transformed by “empty mind and single focus” alone? Yan Hui then proposed aligning himself with Heaven, with people, and with the ancients, perhaps to escape disaster; Confucius still disapproved, because Yan Hui still took his own fixed views as teacher and had not yet truly tasted the deep Way.

Zhao’s commentary says: “When the dead were so many that the land itself was the measure; when corpses filled the marshes, the marshes were the measure.” Here it means the people of Wei were slaughtered like grass and trees. Yan Hui wished to go aid them; Confucius sighed and said, “If you go, you will surely suffer punishment.”

“When remonstrating, if you fear the other will not accept, you say more and more; if you want them to obey, you make your words elaborate. That is what muddles speech. Once the heart is disturbed, worry follows, and there is no time even to save yourself—how then save others? The principle you hold in your heart is not yet firm; how can you lightly go before a tyrant to speak?

“Once reputation is raised, virtue may be harmed; once strife arises, cleverness is born. If remonstrance is heeded, the fault falls on the ruler and the good name on the minister—then reputations overturn one another and the cleverness of contention appears. This is not the way to carry the Way through…”

Even if your De is profound and your trustworthiness firm, if your inner Qi has not yet become open and clear, you may flaunt your own integrity and expose other people’s faults. They will certainly resent you. This is called inviting trouble, and in the end you will inevitably suffer the consequences yourself.

Suppose the ruler of Wei already favors the worthy and detests the unworthy, and is busy seeking talented people. How could he have time to wait for you to advise him? If you say nothing, that is one thing. But once you speak, he will argue stubbornly and compete to prove himself right. Then your vision will blur, and you will not dare meet his gaze; your expression will grow mild, and you will not dare oppose him. You will be busy making excuses for yourself, and outwardly you will have no choice but to comply, while inwardly you will have to let him do as he wishes. This will not help at all; it will only make matters worse. Only by going along with his wishes can you avoid being driven into a dead end.

Long Feng and Bi Gan, whose loyal remonstrations led to their deaths, could not even preserve their reputations. Cong Ji, Xu Fu, and You Hu raised armies and fought, but were defeated by Yao and Yu; in practical terms, they did not succeed. Even sages struggle to preserve their reputations and accomplishments. Do you really think you can set the ruler of Wei straight?

If you insist on going, you should have a suitable method. Try telling me what it is, and I will explain some of the essentials. Yan Hui said, “I would set my mind straight, keep it empty and still, and discipline myself to remain single-minded.” Confucius thought this would not do. The ruler of Wei is arrogant and self-indulgent. You could gently counsel him every day with pleasing words, and he would still refuse to listen. How much less would he accept a sudden attempt to correct him? He is set in his ways and unwilling to change. Even if you outwardly agree with him, you would not dare voice your disagreement inwardly. This would be especially unwise.

Yan Hui tried again, telling Confucius how he planned to rely on the right moment, adapt to circumstances, and take the ancients as his model. Confucius said, “The ruler of Wei has many failings in his governance and laws. How can you use the ancients as a comparison? Even if he does not change, he will not blame you for it. But if this is all you can do, how could you change his conduct? What he does accords perfectly with what he already believes to be right. Would he really be willing to learn from the ancients?”

The commentator Yanzhai says: “I have heard that when a state is well governed, one should enter public service, and when it is in disorder, one should withdraw. Zhuangzi, however, says the opposite: leave a well-governed state and go to one in chaos. The point is like that of someone skilled in medicine: only when there are many sick people does he have a chance to practice. If the state is already well governed, why would it need me? Yan Hui wanted to tell the ruler of Wei what he had learned from Confucius, hoping thereby to bring peace to the state. But Confucius thought he should not go. The words ‘bring disorder upon himself’ and ‘be distressed’ mean that Yan Hui would only bring suffering upon himself; how could he save others? He should first preserve himself. As soon as one seeks fame, one’s natural disposition is diminished; once private cleverness is put to use, the urge to outdo others arises. Fame and cleverness are calamities in the world…”

Things cannot be handled in one rigid way. Therefore, even if your virtue runs deep and your trustworthiness is solid, if you still do not understand another person’s disposition and temperament and you insist on preaching benevolence, righteousness, laws, and policies—or deploying stratagems—before a violent man, disaster will likely fall on you. If you go forward uninvited, he will rely on the dignity of a king or lord, take your words as something to argue against, and strive to defeat you. Trapped by him, your gaze will grow confused; you will bow your head in submission, force a pleasant face, and seek mutual peace; your mouth will busy itself with excuses while your body must kneel and yield, exhausting your mind to go along with him. Keep complying in this way and his wrongdoing will know no end.

Long Feng and Bi Gan were killed for their loyalty and uprightness—because they pursued reputation too far. When Yao and Yu campaigned against the three states, some said they sought fame and private gain; even Yao and Yu could not bear such charges—how much less can you seek reputation and go advise the lord of Wei?

Yan Hui said, “I plan to straighten my mind, keep emptiness and stillness, and strive for single-minded focus—perhaps I can go and transform him.” Confucius held that this absolutely would not work. The lord of Wei’s yang energy is full; if you try to move him with words, he will instead suppress your will to satisfy his own desires. If you stubbornly refuse to yield, outwardly correct and empty-still, only seeking to harmonize with him while inwardly striving to stay unified—can that truly be done? Yan Hui then offered three methods, thinking they might persuade the lord of Wei; Confucius still disagreed: what you call governmental orders and laws are too many; in the end they cannot bring stability. Achieving these three approaches is indeed not a crime, but at most you can preserve yourself—how can you speak of transforming another? All three approaches arise from deliberate, contrived intent; wherever mind is stored and traces remain, it is not the spontaneous Dao.

The gist of the various commentators’ notes is already quite thorough; I will not repeat it here. The sense of individual characters may still be missing in places; I will briefly append notes at the end of the chapter. The phrase “ze ru jiao” is hard to explain. If “ze” is segmented off, the following two characters hardly form a clause. The character ze has two interpretations, and explanations of jiao also differ. Older notes take ze as open wild land and read jiao as qiao (felled wood)—that reading is fairly coherent. “The dead measured by the state” is like the historical phrase “grain measured for cattle and horses”: the dead are too many to count. When the people suffer vast death and injury, grain and plants cannot grow smoothly; the marshland seems as if it has been logged—thus one can see the state of the realm’s affairs. What is meant by “forcing benevolence, righteousness, laws, and policies before a violent man” is using one’s own strengths to invite another’s dislike. All editions agree on the character for “method/stratagem”; only the Bixu zhao and the Jiangnan edition…

Ancient library editions write “美” under the character “衒”; farther on, following Master Cui’s text, the reading is “惡育.” The phrase “美育賣” continues the sense of “衒” above and is meant to knit the passage into a coherent reading. Even so, that interpretation still feels somewhat forced.

Consulting the “Book of Music” in the Records of the Historian: “Knowing the documents of rites and music, one can 术”; it also says, “the clarity of the 术者.” Here “术” may be understood as interchangeable with “述” (to set forth or narrate), and the ancient graph may be retained as written.

In this chapter the term “暴人” appears three times; older commentators uniformly gloss it as violent, brutal people. On closer reading, the first two instances should be taken as “表暴”—laying bare what someone does, that is, acting out and displaying one’s conduct before others. That reading runs more smoothly and fits the context. Only in the final sentence does “暴人” mean a brutal person—and that figure is Kuai Kui (a man of Wei in the Spring and Autumn period).