A DISCUSSION OF HEAVEN

(Section 17)

Heaven’s ways are constant. It does not prevail because of a sage like Yao; it does not cease to prevail because of a tyrant like Jie. Respond to it with good government, and good fortune will result; respond to it with disorder, and misfortune will result. If you encourage agriculture and are frugal in expenditures, then Heaven cannot make you poor. If you provide the people with the goods they need and demand their labor only at the proper time, then Heaven cannot afflict you with illness. If you practice the Way and are not of two minds, then Heaven cannot bring you misfortune. Flood or drought cannot make your people starve, extremes of heat or cold cannot make them fall ill, and strange and uncanny occurrences cannot cause them harm. But if you neglect agriculture and spend lavishly, then Heaven cannot make you rich. If you are careless in your provisions and slow to act, then Heaven cannot make you whole. If you turn your back upon the Way and act rashly, then Heaven cannot give you good fortune. Your people will starve even when there are no floods or droughts; they will fall ill even before heat or cold come to oppress them; they will suffer harm even when no strange or uncanny happenings occur. The seasons will visit you as they do a well-ordered age, but you will suffer misfortunes that a well-ordered age does not know. Yet you must not curse Heaven, for it is merely the natural result of your own actions. Therefore, he who can distinguish between the activities of Heaven and those of mankind is worthy to be called the highest type of man.

To bring to completion without acting, to obtain without seeking—this is the work of Heaven. Thus, although the sage has deep understanding, he does not attempt to exercise it upon the work of Heaven; though he has great talent, he does not attempt to apply it to the work of Heaven; though he has keen perception, he does not attempt to use it on the work of Heaven. Hence it is said that he does not compete with Heaven’s work. Heaven has its seasons; earth has its riches; man has his government. Hence man may form a triad with the other two. But if he sets aside that which allows him to form a triad with the other two and longs for what they have, then he is deluded. The ranks of stars move in progression, the sun and moon shine in turn, the four seasons succeed each other in good order, the yin and yang go through their great transformations, and the wind and rain pass over the whole land. All things obtain what is congenial to them and come to life, receive what is nourishing to them and grow to completion. One does not see the process taking place, but sees only the results. Thus it is called godlike. All men understand that the process has reached completion, but none understands the formless forces that bring it about. Hence it is called the accomplishment of Heaven.¹ Only the sage does not seek to understand Heaven.

When the work of Heaven has been established and its accomplishments brought to completion, when the form of man is whole and his spirit is born, then love and hate, delight and anger, sorrow and joy find lodging in him. These are called his heavenly emotions. Ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and body all have that which they perceive, but they cannot substitute for one another. They are called the heavenly faculties. The heart dwells in the center and governs the five faculties, and hence it is called the heavenly lord. Food and provisions are not of the same species as man, and yet they serve to nourish him and are called heavenly nourishment. He who accords with what is proper to his species will be blessed; he who turns against it will suffer misfortune. These are called the heavenly dictates. To darken the heavenly lord, disorder the heavenly faculties, reject the heavenly nourishment, defy the heavenly dictates, turn against the heavenly emotions, and thereby destroy the heavenly accomplishment is called dire disaster. The sage purifies his heavenly lord, rectifies his heavenly faculties, cherishes the heavenly nourishment, obeys the heavenly dictates, nourishes the heavenly emotions, and thereby preserves the heavenly accomplishment. In this way he understands what is to be done and what is not to be done. Hence Heaven and earth too perform their functions and all things serve him. His actions are completely ordered; his nourishment of the people is completely appropriate; his life is without injury. This is what it means to truly understand Heaven. Hence the really skilled man has things which he does not do; the really wise man has things that he does not ponder.²

When he turns his thoughts to Heaven, he seeks to understand only those phenomena which can be regularly expected. When he turns his thoughts to earth, he seeks to understand only those aspects that can be taken advantage of. When he turns his thoughts to the four seasons, he seeks to understand only the changes that will affect his undertakings. When he turns his thoughts to the yin and yang, he seeks to understand only the modulations which call for some action on his part. The experts may study Heaven; the ruler himself should concentrate on the Way.

Are order and disorder due to the heavens? I reply, the sun and moon, the stars and constellations revolved³ in the same way in the time of Yu as in the time of Jie. Yu achieved order; Jie brought disorder. Hence order and disorder are not due to the heavens.

Are they then a matter of the seasons? I reply, the crops sprout and grow in spring and summer, and are harvested and stored away in autumn and winter. It was the same under both Yu and Jie. Yu achieved order; Jie brought disorder. Hence order and disorder are not a matter of the seasons.

Are they due to the land? I reply, he who acquires land may live; he who loses it will die. It was the same in the time of Yu as in the time of Jie. Yu achieved order; Jie brought disorder. Hence order and disorder are not due to the land. This is what the Odes means when it says:

Heaven made a high hill;

Tai Wang opened it up.

He began the work

And King Wen dwelt there in peace.⁴

Heaven does not suspend the winter because men dislike cold; earth does not cease being wide because men dislike great distances; the gentleman does not stop acting because petty men carp and clamor. Heaven has its constant way; earth has its constant dimensions; the gentleman has his constant demeanor. The gentleman follows what is constant; the petty man reckons up his achievements. This is what the Odes means when it says:

If you have no faults of conduct,

Why be distressed at what others say?⁵

The king of Chu has a retinue of a thousand chariots, but not because he is wise. The gentleman must eat boiled greens and drink water, but not because he is stupid. These are accidents of circumstance. To be refined in purpose, rich in virtuous action, and clear in understanding; to live in the present and remember the past—these are things which are within your own power. Therefore the gentleman cherishes what is within his power and does not long for what is within the power of Heaven alone. The petty man, however, puts aside what is within his power and longs for what is within the power of Heaven. Because the gentleman cherishes what is within his power and does not long for what is within Heaven’s power, he goes forward day by day. Because the petty man sets aside what is within his power and longs for what is within Heaven’s power, he goes backward day by day. The same cause impels the gentleman forward day by day, and the petty man backward. What separates the two originates in this one point alone.

When stars fall or trees make strange sounds,⁶ all the people in the country are terrified and go about asking, “Why has this happened?” For no special reason, I reply. It is simply that, with the changes of Heaven and earth and the mutations of the yin and yang, such things once in a while occur. You may wonder at them, but you must not fear them. The sun and moon are subject to eclipses, wind and rain do not always come at the proper season, and strange stars occasionally appear. There has never been an age that was without such occurrences. If the ruler is enlightened and his government just, then there is no harm done even if they all occur at the same time. But if the ruler is benighted and his government ill-run, then it will be no benefit to him even if they never occur at all. Stars that fall, trees that give out strange sounds—such things occur once in a while with the changes of Heaven and earth and the mutations of the yin and yang. You may wonder at them, but do not fear them.

Among all such strange occurrences, the ones really to be feared are human portents. When the plowing is poorly done and the crops suffer, when the weeding is badly done and the harvest fails; when the government is evil and loses the support of the people; when the fields are neglected and the crops badly tended; when grain must be imported from abroad and sold at a high price, and the people are starving and die by the roadside—these are what I mean by human portents. When government commands are unenlightened, public works are undertaken at the wrong season, and agriculture is not properly attended to, these too are human portents. When the people are called away for corvée labor at the wrong season, so that cows and horses are left to breed together and the six domestic animals produce prodigies;⁷ when ritual principles are not obeyed, family affairs and outside affairs are not properly separated, and men and women mingle wantonly, so that fathers and sons begin to doubt each other, superior and inferior become estranged, and bands of invaders enter the state—these too are human portents. Portents such as these are born from disorder, and if all three types occur at once, there will be no safety for the state. The reasons for their occurrence may be found very close at hand; the suffering they cause is great indeed. You should not only wonder at them, but fear them as well.⁸

An old text says, “Strange occurrences among the creatures of nature are not discussed in the Documents.” Useless distinctions, observations which are not of vital importance—these may be left aside and not tended to. But when it comes to the duties to be observed between ruler and subject, the affection between father and son, and the differences in station between husband and wife—these you must work at day after day and never neglect.

You pray for rain and it rains. Why? For no particular reason, I say. It is just as though you had not prayed for rain and it rained anyway. The sun and moon undergo an eclipse and you try to save them;⁹ a drought occurs and you pray for rain; you consult the arts of divination before making a decision on some important matter. But it is not as though you could hope to accomplish anything by such ceremonies. They are done merely for ornament. Hence the gentleman regards them as ornaments, but the common people regard them as supernatural. He who considers them ornaments is fortunate; he who considers them supernatural is unfortunate.

In the heavens nothing is brighter than the sun and moon; on earth nothing is brighter than fire and water; among natural objects nothing is brighter than pearls and jewels; among men nothing is brighter than ritual principles. If the sun and moon did not rise high in the sky, their splendor would not be seen; if fire and water did not accumulate into a mass, their glow and moisture would not spread abroad; if pearls and jewels did not come to light, then kings and lords would not prize them. So if ritual principles are not applied in the state, then its fame and accomplishment will not become known. The fate of man lies with Heaven; the fate of the nation lies in ritual. If the ruler of men honors rites and promotes worthy men, he may become a true king. If he relies upon laws and loves the people, he may become a dictator. If he cares only for profit and engages in much deceit, he will be in danger. And if he engrosses himself in plots and schemes, subversion and secret evil, he will be destroyed.

Is it better to exalt Heaven and think of it,

Or to nourish its creatures and regulate them?

Is it better to obey Heaven and sing hymns to it,

Or to grasp the mandate of Heaven and make use of it?

Is it better to long for the seasons and wait for them,

Or to respond to the seasons and exploit them?

Is it better to wait for things to increase of themselves,

Or to apply your talents and transform them?

Is it better to think of things but regard them as outside you, Or to control things and not let them slip your grasp?

Is it better to long for the source from which things are born,

Or to possess the means to bring them to completion?¹⁰

Hence if you set aside what belongs to man and long for what belongs to Heaven, you mistake the nature of all things.

What the hundred kings of antiquity never departed from—this may serve as the abiding principle of the Way. To the ups and downs of history, respond with this single principle. If you apply it well, there will be no disorder; but if you do not understand it, you will not know how to respond to change. The essence of this principle has never ceased to exist. Disorder is born from misunderstanding of it; order consists in applying it thoroughly. If you harmonize with what is best in the Way, all will go well; if you distort what is best in the Way, you cannot govern effectively; if you mistake what is best in the Way, you will be led into grave error.

When men wade across a river, they mark the deep places; but if the markers are not clear, those who come after will fall in. He who governs the people marks the Way; but if the markers are not clear, disorder will result. Rites are the markers. He who does away with rites blinds the world; and when the world is blinded, great disorder results. Hence, if the Way is made clear in all its parts, different marks set up to indicate the outside and inside, and the dark and light places are made constant, then the pits which entrap the people can be avoided.

The ten thousand beings are only one corner of the Way. One species of being is only one corner of the ten thousand beings. The stupid man is only one corner of one species. He himself believes that he understands the Way, though of course he does not. Shenzi¹¹ could see the advantages of holding back, but not the advantages of taking the lead. Laozi could see the advantages of humbling oneself, but not the advantages of raising one’s station. Mozi could see the advantages of uniformity, but not those of diversity. Songzi¹² could see the advantages of having few desires, but not those of having many. If everyone holds back and no one takes the lead, then there will be no gate to advancement for the people. If everyone humbles himself and no one tries to improve his station, then the distinctions between eminent and humble will become meaningless. If there is only uniformity and no diversity, then the commands of government can never be carried out. If there is only a lessening of desires and never an increase, then there will be no way to educate and transform the people.¹³ This is what the Documents means when it says: “Do not go by what you like, but follow the way of the king; do not go by what you hate, but follow the king’s road.”¹⁴

 

¹Adding the word gong at the end of the sentence.

²In this passage, which I fear goes rather ponderously into English, Xunzi uses the word tian in the sense of “Nature” or “natural.” I have translated it as “Heaven” or “heavenly” throughout, however, in order to make clear the connection with what has gone before.

³Following Kanaya, I read huan instead of rui.

⁴ “Hymns of Zhou,” Tianzuo, Mao text no. 270.

⁵No such poem is found in the present text of the Odes. The first line of the quotation has dropped out of the text at this point, but has been restored from the identical quotation in sec. 22.

⁶Xunzi is probably referring in particular to the sacred trees planted around the altar of the soil, whose rustlings and creakings were believed to have deep significance.

⁷The text of the sentence up to this point appears a little farther on in the paragraph, where it makes little sense with what goes before or after. It is not certain where it belongs (nor is the meaning any too clear), but I have followed Wang Niansun’s suggestion in inserting it here.

⁸Reading yi instead of bu.

⁹ According to Zuozhuan, Duke Wen 15th year, when an eclipse occurs, the king should beat a drum at the altar of the soil and the feudal lords should beat drums in their courts in order to drive it away.

¹⁰This section is rhymed.

¹¹Shen Dao, a Daoist-Legalist thinker who, according to the “Tianxia” chapter of Zhuangzi, preached a doctrine of passivity.

¹²Song Jian, a philosopher who, according to the same source, taught a life of frugality and few desires.

¹³Because they will not be attracted by the hope of reward.

¹⁴From the “Hongfan” (Great Plan).