USING NUMEROUS examples, “Boundless Discourses” shows that change has always been a part of human history, from remote antiquity to the present day. It argues that successful rulers do not resist change in a futile attempt to uphold the policies and standards of the past but instead modify their actions to suit changing customs and circumstances. Sages, on whom rulers are urged to model themselves, are portrayed as having a unique insight that allows them to see the enduring reality behind superficial qualities. That in turn enables them to adapt to change and innovate while following diverse strategies to realize the Way under varying circumstances.
The Chapter Title
The title of the chapter is “Fan lun” 
, which we translate as “Boundless Discourses,” although “Far-reaching Assessments” would also be a suitable rendering. Fan is closely related to the word fan 
, “general” or “common,” but with the “water” radical, it has connotations of “floodlike,” “inundating,” “boundless,” and “spreading in all directions.” Lun was used in many senses during the Han, from the verbal senses of “to consider, examine, appraise, argue, elucidate,” and, most prominently, “to discuss, argue, or dispute,” to the nominal sense of “discussion” and “discourse.”
As is often the case in the Huainanzi, the authors exploit the multivalence of ancient Chinese words so that the chapter title exhibits several important resonances germane to understanding the aims and import of the chapter, nuances that are nearly impossible to capture in a single English translation. On the one hand, rendering the title as “Boundless Discourses” underscores two important aspects of the chapter. It highlights the human phenomenon addressed in this chapter and the object of the sage’s acuity: the “boundless” quality of human society to develop over time toward ever-increasing differentiation, complexity, and multidimensionality. It also relates the chapter title to a genre of writing known as the discourse. Here, however, we would argue that the term is employed rather loosely, as the chapter is not one long discursive essay but is constituted from smaller segments of discourse that together yield a coherent and cogent argument.
On the other hand, translating the title as “Far-Reaching Assessments” would capture a central theme of the chapter, the sage’s far-reaching ability to assess change and diversity in the world. Such a rendering proposes a narrower and more focused reading of lun. In the Qin legal system, which, largely intact, continued to be used in Han times, the judgment rendered by the presiding official in a legal case was a lun —an “opinion” or a “judgment” legally binding on all parties to the case. Here the term “assessment” indicates that this chapter provides numerous illustrations of how the sage assesses a wide range of situations and historical examples and renders judgments about them to guide the ruler. These are wide-ranging and can be generalized to inform the conduct of the ruler in many kinds of situations; hence the alternative translation “Far-Reaching Assessments.”1
Summary and Key Themes
The Huainanzi’s own summary of “Boundless Discourses” in chapter 21, “An Overview of the Essentials,” says that the chapter will enable a reader to “stitch up the spaces in ragged seams and hems, and plug up the gaps in crooked and chattering teeth.” This vivid metaphor for the shortcomings of the present age, depicted as a ragged and disreputable vagrant, uses the image of how things grow old and unserviceable over time to suggest that sage-rulers cannot rest content to follow the ways of ancient times but instead must remain attuned to changes wrought by time and circumstance. The sage must be deeply acquainted with the historical past but not in servitude to bygone ways; he must be prepared to abandon old policies when they become obsolete, innovate when faced with new challenges, and adopt diverse approaches as the circumstances warrant. Nowhere in the text do we find a more comprehensive discussion of change, replete with an elaborate vocabulary that brings out subtle distinctions within the concept, including such terms as “to change” (yi 
), “to transform” (hua 
), “to alter” (bian 
), and “to adjust” (yi 
). Numerous historical anecdotes illustrate how sages through the ages have assessed, responded to, and adapted to changing circumstances, and, indeed, one subtheme of the chapter is the ruler’s need for a historically grounded understanding of human affairs.
The authors of “Boundless Discourses” accept the view, common at the time, that in the most ancient eras of human history, life was idyllic, sages ruled through the inherent Potency of the Way, and governance was uncomplicated. But time, the chapter insists, has marched on and brought with it changes and new challenges that sages met by constantly innovating in diverse ways, including the invention of such virtues as Humaneness and Rightness. Even the sages of remote antiquity are not portrayed as static figures but are celebrated for inventing devices and techniques— rudimentary forms of shelter, clothing, agriculture, transportation, and weaponry— that eased the peoples’ daily struggle to survive and improved their material wellbeing. The Duke of Zhou provides an example of a sage who often altered his course of action to adapt to changing circumstances. Change is both normal and necessary. Early rulers and dynasties that were able to transform themselves and adapt to times and customs thrived; those that did not, perished. Most recently, the founding emperor of the Han is lauded as a model ruler because he adjusted his policies to suit the demands of his day, all the while cultivating moderation as he did so. (This no doubt reflects not only Liu An’s pride in the imperial Liu clan, of which he was a member, but also his strong political interest in the dynastic founder’s policy of establishing and maintaining large, semiautonomous kingdoms such as Huainan.)
Because sages embrace change, they are anything but uniform in their actions. Rather, they follow historical precedents for both creativity and diversity. Do not blindly revere or follow antiquity, the authors argue, or your state will perish. Laws and rites suitable for any given age will become obsolete with the passage of time. Rulers of the present day must emulate the ancient sages (as they are portrayed here), not in their specific actions and policies, but in their willingness to adjust rites and laws to changing circumstances. In some instances, this adjustment demands promulgating new laws or reforming rites; in others, it recognizes that it is sometimes necessary for a ruler to depart from the usual legal regulations and ritual standards of his time.
Sages think and act in the context of change, guided by their cultivated and internalized understanding of the Way. Thus they are able to discard obsolete policies that no longer suit the times and use timeliness and expediency to respond to changing circumstances. As in other chapters, timeliness (shi 
) involves seizing the opportune moment to implement a particular course of action. Expediency (quan 
) sanctions the suspension of normal standards of conduct, as the context demands, to achieve a greater good. Expediency involves the weighing, sorting, and prioritizing of competing moral imperatives. Choosing properly leads to moral equilibrium (another meaning of quan); the choice depends on the sage’s innate sense of moral values, guided by the Way. Only a sage understands expediency and the power of circumstance from which it derives.2
Although “Boundless Discourses” emphasizes that the ability to change is an essential component of successful rulership, it also insists that a ruler has to possess the qualities of a sage to understand when and how to change. This begs the question: What, then, is a sage? This chapter points to a number of qualities that add up to sageliness. Attuned to the Way, sages enjoy a unique capacity to assess (lun) the world around them. They can understand and evaluate, in the context of the times in which they live, the circumstances of the moment, the actions of other men, and their own strengths and weaknesses. Sages understand that self-preservation is the foundation of all future policies. They weigh and assess circumstances and preserve themselves, even at the cost of temporary setbacks or humiliation, so as to make their policies effective in the long run.
Sages seek out worthy individuals wherever they may be found, and they can assess their worth before it is apparent to others, sometimes on the basis of a single word or deed. Ordinary people equate lowly position with lack of merit, but sages overlook superficial negatives to discover underlying worth. Similarly, sages are not confused by strange phenomena and aberrations but use the ordinary and the usual as the basis for assessing situations. Nor are sages distracted by tales of ghosts and spirits, but understand that the common people are guided by superstition and fear, which can be used to control them. But sages do not rely on terrifying and cruel punishments to deter misconduct or on extravagant rewards to encourage good conduct. They understand that the love and loyalty of the people cannot be commanded through fear or bought with bribes, but it can be won through Moral Potency. Sages look for the best in their subordinates and for ways to bring out their best, and they overlook minor shortcomings in favor of significant strengths. Thus good judgment is an essential quality for a ruler: many things are superficially alike but really different, or superficially different but really alike. Sages know how to tell them apart.
Despite the chapter’s emphasis on the sages’ ability to assess and adapt, they also must consistently conform to certain fixed principles embodied in the Way. “Boundless Discourses” identifies these principles as Humaneness and Rightness. As both sections 8.3 and 11.1 have demonstrated (drawing on Laozi 38 in both cases), such qualities of Moral Potency as Humaneness and Rightness (along with Ritual and Music) themselves came into being only in the course of changing times and circumstances, after the primordial Way and its Potency had been lost. But having been established through this process of change, Humaneness and Rightness are treated here as enduring qualities that transcend time and circumstance, whereas legal regulations and ritual standards will continue to vary and be adapted to their times.
Harmony also is an enduring principle embodied by the sages. Mirroring the vital energy of Heaven and Earth, which perfectly blends yin and yang to generate cosmic harmony, sages are said to “reside between hardness and softness and thereby obtain the root of the Way.” They are the perfect balance of leniency and firmness, strictness and kindness, pliancy and rigidity, forcefulness and humaneness. In contrast, unsuccessful rulers often vacillate between leniency and strictness, with disastrous results in either case. Accordingly, it is necessary to adapt to circumstances and choose a path of moderation. Thus, the chapter concludes, if the ruler embraces the Way and conducts himself in accordance with its Harmony, good government will naturally result.
Sources
This chapter, like others in the Huainanzi, synthesizes materials from disparate sources, many of which were pitted against one another in the late Warring States context of doctrinal competition but which are made to fit comfortably together in this text. As the authors of “Boundless Discourse” explain,
The hundred rivers have different sources, yet all return to the ocean.
The hundred lineages [of learning] have different specializations, yet all strive for [good] governance. (13.3)
Here we find passages inspired by the Mozi, Xunzi, Hanfeizi, Gongyang Commentary (to the Spring and Autumn Annals), Odes, Changes, and Laozi placed side by side, with appropriate lessons drawn from each. The idea that the sages of antiquity cannot serve as unchanging models of royal conduct may be seen as a criticism of one strand of Confucian doctrine, but Confucius himself is portrayed sympathetically in the chapter, and the normative qualities of Humaneness and Rightness, seen here as essential elements of sage rulership, are fundamental to Confucian doctrine. But if the chapter is open to Confucian ideas, it also is heavily indebted to sources that are normally seen as anti-Confucian. Especially the opening sections of the chapter show the strong influence of the “Ciguo” 
(Refusing Extravagances) chapter of the Mozi and the “Wudu” 
(Five Vermin) chapter of the Hanfeizi in arguing that the sages of antiquity were not merely passive and quiescent but also “active creators of the material culture of humanity.” Drawing from those sources, the conclusion of “Boundless Discourses” is that “it is necessary for sages to create anew with the changing times.”3
Chapter 13 draws on these diverse sources not to set them in opposition to one another but to enlist them in various ways in support of the central arguments that change is normative and that sages perfectly attune their conduct to the ever-changing contexts they confront. Thus, through illustrations of past sages, the authors urge the ruler to establish a comprehensive view of things that entails not siding a priori with the perspective of any one particular viewpoint but availing himself of the diverse contributions of all of them, thereby enabling him to contend with whatever challenges that change might bring.
The Chapter in the Context of the Huainanzi as a Whole
“Boundless Discourses” is one of the most overtly political chapters in a text that overall can be read as a prescription for sage-rulership or a curriculum for a sage-ruler in training. Here Liu An is arguing for the necessity of the ruler making creative responses to change, a plea for the emperor and his regime being open to new ideas (such as those contained in the Huainanzi). The chapter criticizes those who seek the answers to the political questions of the age in canonical texts (13.4) and argues against the extravagance and militarism of Qin-style centralized rule (13.9). The statement in 13.10 that “survival lies in obtaining the Way; it does not lie in being large. Destruction lies in losing the Way; it does not lie in being small” is overtly about the importance of conforming to the Way, but in terms of contemporary early Han politics, it can also be read as daring attempt to persuade the imperial regime not to increase the territory under central control by wiping out and absorbing neofeudal kingdoms like Huainan.
The summary of chapter 13 in the work’s final chapter, “An Overview of the Essentials,” reinforces the chapter’s political claims. The statement in chapter 21 that “Boundless Discourses” “welcomes the straightforward and straightens out the devious, in order to extend the Original Unhewn,” could be read as a reference to the many historical personages referred to in the chapter’s anecdotal sections, but it also could be a plea for Liu An to be made welcome at court in his hoped-for role as uncle and adviser to the young emperor Wu. The summary’s claim that the chapter will enable the reader to
not be foolishly immersed in the advantages of political power,
not be seductively confused by the exigencies of affairs,
and so tally with constancy and change
to link up and discern timely and generational alterations,
and extend and adjust [your policies] in accordance with transformations (21.2)
is surely a plea to the emperor not to pursue unsound policies (such as abolishing the neofeudal kingdoms) in pursuit of short-term gains.
In the Huainanzi as a whole, this chapter has links in many directions, including the value of self-cultivation (chapter 7), a devolutionary view of history (chapter 8), and the importance of flexibility on the part of the ruler (chapter 11). Perhaps most striking is the consonance between the emphasis in chapter 13 on the importance of the ruler’s creative responses to change and the insistent message of chapter 19 that sage-rulership demands constant effort and rigorous training. A sage-ruler does far more than “sit on his throne and face south.”
Sarah A. Queen and John S. Major
1. Both Ames and Csikszentmihaly regard fan as adjectival: “Perennial Discussions” (Ames 1994, 20) and “All-Encompassing Discussions” (Csikszentmihalyi 2004, 174). Le Blanc and Mathieu 2003 render the title as “De l’inconstance des choses” (On the Uncertainty of Things).
2. For the various meanings of the word quan, including the weighing of courses of action that we term “expediency,” see Griet Vankeerberghen, “Choosing Balance: Weighing (quan) as a Metaphor for Action in Early Chinese Texts,” Early China 30 (2005): 47–89. See also chap. 9, n. 48.
3. Michael Puett, The Ambivalence of Creation (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2001),160.
In ancient times, those who wore [plain] caps and [simple] rolled collars ruled the world.1 Their Potency was of life, not death, of giving, not usurping. None in the world rejected their service; all embraced their Potency. In those times,
yin and yang were harmonious and tranquil;
the winds and rains were timely and moderate.
The myriad things prospered and flourished;
nests of birds and owls could be inspected on bended knee;2
wild animals could be ensnared and kept compliant.
What need was there for official costumes, wide sashes, buckled collars, grand insignia? [13/120/3–5]
In ancient times, the people lived in humid lands, hollowing out caves again and again.
In the winters, they could not bear the frost, the snow, the fog, the dew;
in the summers, they could not bear the oppressive heat, the sultry days, the mosquitoes, the flies.
The sages therefore created for them the pounding of earth and the cutting of trees to make houses. Above they placed ridgepoles, and below they placed rafters
to protect against the winds and rain
and to keep out the cold and heat.
The common people3 were put at ease.
Bo Yu4 was the first to make clothing. He spun the hemp, working the warp with his hand, suspending it through his fingers, and forming it like netting. Later generations [of sages] made looms for doubled weaves to increase their usefulness. The people were thus able to protect their bodies and drive off the cold.
In ancient times, [the people]
sharpened sticks to plow,
polished clam shells to weed,
cut firewood to make fuel,
and hauled jars to draw water.
The people labored, but their gains were few. Later generations [of sages] made them plows, plowshares, and hoes; axes for cutting firewood; and well sweeps for drawing water. The people were at ease, [and] their gains multiplied.
In ancient times, the great rivers and famed waterways cut across the roads and impeded the comings and goings of the people. Consequently, [the sages] hollowed logs and squared timbers to make rafts and boats. Therefore, according to a place’s circumstances of plenty or dearth, things could be exchanged and transported.
They made shoes from hides and traversed a thousand li;
they endured the labor of carrying loads on their backs.
[The sages] thus created for them
the bending [of wood] into wheels and the constructing of carts,
the hitching of horses and the yoking of oxen.
The people could thus go great distances without tiring.
Since ferocious beasts would injure people and there was nothing with which to stop them, [the sages] created for them the casting of metal and the forging of iron to make weapons and arms. The animals could harm them no more.
Thus,
pressed by difficulties, [the sages] searched for what was advantageous;
bound by adversity, they created what was necessary.
In each case, the people used what they had come to know [from the sages]
to eliminate what harmed them
and to seek what benefited them.
If the unchanging past cannot be followed, if the martial implements [of the past] cannot be relied on, then there will be [occasions when] the laws and standards of the former kings must be adjusted to changing [circumstances]. [13/120/7–17]
According to the ancient regulations,
in the marriage ritual, no reference is made to the host [i.e., the bridegroom]. [But in the Spring and Autumn Annals there is an instance in which the bridegroom is named.]5 Shun married without announcing it [to his father]. These [actions] were not in accord with the rites.6
One establishes one’s eldest son as the heir. [But] King Wen set aside Bo Yikao7 and used King Wu. This was not in accord with the regulations.
According to the rites, one marries at age thirty. [But] King Wen was fifteen and had King Wu. This was not in accord with the law.
In the time of the Xia, the tablet for the deceased was placed above the eastern steps; the Yin placed it between two pillars; the Zhou placed it above the western steps. These rites were not the same.
Shun used earthen coffins; the Xia encircled them with stonework; the Yin used double coffins; the Zhou built a partition and arranged feathers on it. These burial practices were not the same.
The Xia sacrificed at night; the Yin sacrificed during the day; the Zhou sacrificed when the sun rose at dawn. These sacrifices were not the same.
For Yao, the [music was] the “Great Measure”;8 for Shun, the “Nine Harmonies”; for Yu, the “Great Xia”; for Tang, the “Great Melody”; for Zhou, the “[Grand] Martiality” and the “[Three] Elephants.”9 These tunes were not the same.
Therefore,
the Five Thearchs had different ways, but their Potency covered the world.
The Three Kings had distinct activities, but their fame has been handed down to later generations.
They all instituted rites and music in accord with alterations in the times. It was like [the blind] Music Master Kuang’s setting the bridges on a se: he moved and adjusted them up and down [the sounding board] without measuring by inches or feet, yet none failed to [be tuned to] the proper note. Thus, those who comprehend the essential qualities of rites and music are able to create [accurate] notes. The basis and ruling principle lies within them; therefore they understand how standards and measures should be applied comprehensively. [13/120/19–27]
Duke Zhao of Lu10 had a nurse whom he loved. When she died, he had a cap of silk made on her behalf. Thus there came to be mourning clothes for nurses.11
The lord of Yang killed the lord of Liao and took his wife. Thus there came to be the protocol of excusing women from great feasts.12
When the regulations of the former kings were not appropriate, they were discarded; in the actions of the later ages, if they were good, they were promoted. This is why the rites and music have never [even] begun to have constancy. Therefore, the sages regulate rites and music; they are not regulated by them.
Ordering the state has a constant, and benefiting the people is its basis.
Correcting education has its norms, and carrying out orders is the apogee.
If one investigates benefiting the people, one does not necessarily imitate the ancients.
If one investigates activities, one does not necessarily accord with the old.
Now,
as for the decline of the Xia and Shang: they did not alter their laws, and they were destroyed.
As for the ascendancy of the Three Dynasties: they ruled without imitating their predecessors and so suited [their circumstances].
Thus, sages’
laws alter with the times;
[their] rites transform along with customs.
Their clothes and utensils were each determined according to their use; the laws, measures, regulations, and commands accorded with what was appropriate. Therefore,
altering what is ancient is not something that can be rejected,
and following what is customary is not enough [to warrant being called] “excessive.”
The hundred rivers have different sources, yet all return to the ocean.
The hundred lineages [of learning] have different specializations, yet all strive for [good] governance. [13/121/1–8]
When the way of the kings grew deficient, the Odes was created. When the house of Zhou fell into ruin and their ritual standards were destroyed, the Spring and Autumn Annals was created. Those who study the Odes and the Spring and Autumn Annals view them as beautiful; both are products of ages of decline. The Confucians follow them in order to teach and guide the generations. But how can they compare to the flourishing of the Three Dynasties? Taking the Odes and the Spring and Autumn Annals as the way of the ancients, they honor them. But there is also the time before the Odes and the Spring and Autumn Annals were created.
Now,
the deficiency of the Way is not as good as the entirety of the Way;
reciting the poems and texts of the former kings is not as good as hearing and attaining their words;
hearing and attaining their words is not as good as attaining that about which they spoke.
As for attaining that about which they spoke, speaking cannot speak it. Therefore: “The Way that can be spoken is not the enduring Way.”13 [13/121/8–13]
When the Duke of Zhou served King Wen,
he never encroached on the regulations.
He never acted on his own behalf.
It was as if his person was not equal to his regalia;
it was as if his speech did not emanate from his mouth.
When receiving instructions from King Wen, he was submissive and weak, as if incapable, as if afraid he might stray from them. It can be said that he was able to be a true son.
King Wu died; King Cheng was young. The Duke of Zhou continued the work of Kings Wen and Wu:
he took the position of the Son of Heaven;
he oversaw the governance of the world.
He pacified the rebellions of the Yi and Di [tribal peoples];
he punished the crimes of Guan and Cai;14
he turned his back to the north; he brought the Lords of the Land to court; he meted out punishments; he gave out rewards—all without taking counsel. His authority moved Heaven and Earth, and his voice extended to all within the seas. It can be said that he was able to be martial.
When King Cheng attained maturity, the Duke of Zhou gathered together the population registers and resigned from the government. He faced north, offered gifts, and served as a minister. He
acted only after being asked
and put [policies] into practice only after [the request] was repeated
—without the will to arrogate authority to himself and without a proud countenance. It can be said that he was able to be a minister.
Thus the same person altered three times in order to accord with the times. How much more so
for rulers who frequently change generations15
and states that frequently change rulers?
People use their positions to attain their wishes and use their authority to obtain their desires. It is clear that if one wants to use
rituals that are uniformly implemented
and laws that are uniformly established
to respond to the times and accord with alteration, he will be incapable of attaining equilibrium.16 [13/121/15–22]
Therefore, what the sage follows is called the “Way”; what he does is “activities.” The Way is like metal and stone [musical] instruments: once tuned, they do not change. Activities are like the qin and se; they need to be retuned continuously. Therefore, law, regulations, Ritual, and Rightness are instruments for governance, but not the means by which to govern. Thus,
Humaneness is the warp;
Rightness is the skein of [weft] threads;17
this does not change in ten thousand generations. It is like the fact that one can test the abilities of the people and study the ways they can be used, even though daily there are alterations. Does the world have unchanging laws? If you
fit with affairs of the age,
obtain the patterns of man,
accord with Heaven and Earth,
and bring happiness to the ghosts and spirits,
then you can rectify and govern. [13/121/24–27]
In antiquity,
the people were pure, the artisans skillful,
the merchants straightforward, the women simple.
This is why
governance and education were easily transformed [in response to circumstances],
and habits and customs were easily adjusted [to suit changing times].
In the present age, Moral Potency is declining more and more, and the customs of the people are becoming more and more stingy. Wanting to use straightforward and simple laws to put in order a people already corrupted is like wanting to control a horse without a bit and a whip.
In ancient times, the Divine Farmer used no regulations or commands, yet the people followed. Tang [i.e., Yao] and Yu [i.e., Shun] had regulations and commands but no punishments.
The Xia used no false words;
the Shang made oaths;
the Zhou made covenants.
When one comes down to the present time, people accept shame and think lightly of being disgraced, value taking, and belittle giving. Wanting to use the way of the Divine Farmer to put things in order would only make chaos inevitable. When Bocheng Zigao18 resigned from being a Lord of the Land and simply tilled the fields, the world exalted him. Now, those who resign from office and become hermits occupy the bottom [rung] of their locales. How can this be considered the same?
The armies of antiquity had bows and swords; their lances had no sharp points; their halberds, no tips.
The armies of the later ages have siege weapons and battering rams with which to attack, spiked balls with which to defend, arrays of crossbows with which to shoot, and iron chariots with which to fight.
When states fought in ancient times, they did not kill the young, [and] they did not capture the old.
What in antiquity was proper is today laughable; what was taken to be honorable in antiquity is taken to be disgraceful today; what was taken to be order in antiquity is taken to be chaos today. [13/122/1–9]
Now,
the Divine Farmer and Fuxi did not give out rewards and punishments, yet the people did no wrong; but those who govern [today] are unable to dispense with laws and rule the people.
Shun grasped a shield and axe and brought the Miao rulers to submission, yet those who lead campaigns [today] are unable to use arms to reduce the violence.
Looking at the issue from this perspective, it is clear that laws and standards are the means to assess the customs of the people and regulate relaxation and work; instruments and implements accord with the alterations of the times and are regulated to fit what is suitable. Now,
the sages created laws and the myriad people were regulated by them;
the worthies established rituals and the ignorant were restrained by them.
[But] people who are regulated by laws cannot propose far-reaching initiatives;
those who are restrained by rituals cannot effect responsive alterations.
An ear that does not know the difference between high and low [tones] cannot order tunes and notes;
a mind that does not understand the source of order and disorder cannot impose regulations and laws.
It is necessary to have
an ear that uniquely hears,
discernment that uniquely sees;
for only then can you take personal responsibility for implementing the Way. [13/122/11–18]
Now,
the Yin replaced the Xia;
the Zhou replaced the Yin;
the Spring and Autumn period replaced the Zhou.
The rites of the Three Dynasties were not the same. Why should antiquity be followed? [13/122/20]
Great men create and [their] disciples follow. If you understand from whence law and governance arise, then you can respond to the times and alter. If you do not understand the origin of law and governance, even if you accord with antiquity, you will end up in disorder. The legal edicts of the current age should alter with the times; ritual standards should change with customs. Scholars accord with those who came before, inherit their practices, rely on their records, and hold fast to their teachings—thinking that if they oppose them there will be no order. This is like trying to use a square tool to chisel out a round hole: you hope to obtain a proper fit and a fixed starting point, but it is very difficult.
Now the Confucians and Mohists revere the Three Dynasties and Wen and Wu, but they do not put this into practice. This is to affirm in words what they do not practice. They oppose the current age, but they do not reform it; this is to affirm in practice what they oppose. They praise what they affirm but put into practice what they oppose. They thereby expend their days with utmost anxiety yet without contributing anything to governance. They weary their bodies and strain their understanding without giving any aid to the ruler.
Nowadays artisans like to paint demons and detest representing dogs and horses. Why? Because demons do not appear in the world, while dogs and horses can be seen daily.
Now, to maintain oneself [in times of] danger and to govern [in times of] disorder cannot be done without intelligence, but even a fool can praise what came before and revere antiquity. Thus,
a sage-king does not implement useless laws;
a sage-king does not heed unverifiable words. [13/122/20–27]
As for the qi of Heaven and Earth, nothing is as grand as Harmony. Harmony means
the blending of yin and yang,
the dividing of day and night,
and the birth of the myriad things.
In the period of spring there is birth;
in the period of autumn there is maturation;
with birth and maturation, [things] invariably obtain the quintessence of harmony. Therefore, the way of the sages is
lenient yet firm,
strict yet kind,
pliant yet upright,
forceful yet humane.
Too much hardness leads to inflexibility;
too much softness leads to laxity.
Sages properly reside between hardness and softness and thereby obtain the root of the Way.
If they accumulate [only] yin, they will sink;
if they accumulate [only] yang, they will fly away.
With yin and yang conjoined, they thereby perfect harmony. [13/122/29–13/123/2]
Considering the marking cord as a standard,
it can be rolled up and tucked away;
it can be drawn out and stretched;
it can be straightened and followed [with the eye].
Therefore, sages use their bodies to incarnate it. Now,
when lengthened, it is not crooked;
when shortened, it is not deficient;
when straightened, it is not rigid.
Long lasting and not ephemeral:
this is a marking cord! Therefore,
kindness pushed too far is feebleness; being feeble, one has no authority.
Strictness pushed too far is fierceness; being fierce, one is not harmonious.
Loving pushed too far is laxity; being lax, one cannot command.
Punishing pushed too far is cruelty; being cruel, one cannot win affection. [13/123/4–7]
In earlier times, Duke Jian of Qi let go the reins of his country and transferred responsibility to his ministers. They took up the authority; they arrogated power to themselves; they acted selfishly; they formed factions; and the public way was not put into practice. As a result, Chen Chengchang19 and Chiyi Zipi20 fell into difficulties; the house of Lü broke off their sacrifices; and the house of Chen took the country. This is what arises from too much softness and feebleness.
Ziyang of Cheng was firm and harsh and fond of punishments. In his use of punishments, he carried them out without pardons. One of his officers broke a bow; fearing retribution and terrified of being put to death, he took advantage of the panic caused by a mad dog and killed Ziyang.21 This is what firmness and fierceness bring about.
Nowadays, those who do not understand the Way,
seeing the soft and feeble being usurped, turn to acting firmly and harshly;
seeing firmness and harshness being destroyed, turn to acting softly and feebly.
This is due to the lack of a basis within and to one’s hearing and seeing being dragged along from the outside. Therefore, to the end of one’s days, one will have no stable way of acting. This is like singing without knowing the melody: the low notes will be flat and will not be in tune with the other notes; the high notes will be too sharp and will not harmonize. When it came to the melodies of Han E, Qin Qing, and Xue Tan and the songs of Hou Tong and Wan Sheng:22 [the music]
aroused their inclinations
and accumulated inside them,
welling up and emerging as notes, so that
none failed to be in tune with the pitch pipes,
and all harmonized with the hearts of others [who heard them].
How so? Within themselves they had a basis and a ruling principle that let them hit exactly the low and high notes. They received nothing externally; they themselves were the standard.23
Now, if a blind man is walking down a road,
when people say to go left, he goes left;
when people say to go right, he goes right.
If he meets a gentleman, then he will follow an easy path;
if he meets a petty man, he will fall into a ditch.
How so? His eyes have nothing with which to connect.
Therefore,
Wei used both Lou [Bi] and Zhai [Qiang]24 and lost its lands west of the Yellow River;
King Min [of Qi]25 used only Nao Chi26 and died at Dongmiao:
They did not possess the technique for “driving the chariot” [of state].
King Wen used both Lü Wang and Duke Shi of Zhao and became king;
King Zhuang of Chu used only Sunshu Ao and became hegemon:
They possessed the technique for “driving the chariot” [of state]. [13/123/7–18]
Singing to stringed instruments and dancing to drums so as make music;
turning, bestowing, diminishing, yielding so as to practice the rites;
having lavish burials and lengthy mourning so as to send off the dead:
These were established by Confucius, but Mozi opposed them.
Universal love, honoring the worthy,
esteeming ghosts, opposing fatalism:
These were established by Mozi, but Yangzi27 opposed them.
Keeping your nature intact, protecting your authenticity,
not allowing things to entangle your form:28
These were established by Yangzi, but Mencius29 opposed them.
In accepting or rejecting [something], people differ, for each has a particular understanding in mind. Thus, right and wrong are based on a particular perspective.
Gain [a particular] perspective, and something is not “wrong”;
lose [that particular] perspective, and [the same] thing is not “right.”
As for the people of Danxue, Taimeng, Fanzhong, Kongtong, Daxia, Beihu, Qihong, Xiugu:30 Each have their different rights and wrongs, [and] their customs are mutually opposed.
Ruler and minister, superior and inferior,
husband and wife, father and son:
each has its related service.
What is right for the one is not right for the other;
what is wrong for the one is not wrong for the other.
It is like an axe, hatchet, hammer, and chisel, each having its own function. [13/123/20–25]
In the time of Yu, he listened to proper order by means of the five tones. Suspended [by silk cords] were bells, drums, chimestones, and bells with clappers; and set up [on frames] were small drums, all to greet officers from the four quarters. It was proclaimed:
“If it is someone to teach me the Way, strike the drum.
If it is someone to discuss with me Rightness, strike the bell.
If it is someone to announce to me affairs of state, shake the bells with clappers.
If it is someone to talk to me of troubles, strike the chimestones.
If it is someone with a legal dispute, play the small drums.”
At this time,
he would get up ten times during a single meal,
and he would be interrupted three times when washing his hair—
all to labor for the people in the world. If one failed to attain this level of goodness and loyalty, then even talent was insufficient.
In the time of Qin, they
built to great height towers and pavilions,
made extensive gardens and enclosures,
and built far-reaching imperial roads.
They cast bronze figures,
sent out troops,
and brought in grasses and grains.
Taxes, levies, and duties were transported to the treasuries. Young men and grown men were sent
west to Linchao and Didao,
east to Huiji and Fushi,
south to Yuzhang and Guilin,
north to Feihu and Yangyuan.
On the roads, the dead filled the ditches. At this time, those who loyally remonstrated were called inauspicious, and those who took Humaneness and Rightness as their Way were called mad.
When we come down to the time of Emperor Gao,31 [the founder of the Han],
he survived in the face of destruction;
he continued what had been cut off.
He upheld the great Rightness of the world; he personally worked and grasped a sword so as to beseech August Heaven on behalf of his people. At this time, those in the world who were courageous, brave, valiant, and talented endured sun and rain in the fields and marshes; the vanguard were exposed to arrows and stones; the rearguard fell into ravines and ditches. For every hundred sent out, one would survive in the struggle for the balance of the world. With a determined martiality and a rigorous sincerity, they cut short their allotted life span to a single day. At this time, those who wore sumptuous clothing and wide sashes and who took [the teachings of] the Confucians and Mohists as their Way were taken as unworthy. This continued until the tyranny and disorder was ended and overcome. He
settled [the affairs of] all within the seas;
continued the undertakings of civility
and established the merits of martiality.32
He compiled the land registers of the Son of Heaven;
created a [ceremonial] cap for the house of Liu;
unified the Confucians and Mohists of Zou and Lu,
and penetrated the transmitted teachings of the former sages.
He displayed the banners of the Son of Heaven,
traveled the great roads,
established the nine pennants,
rang the great bell,
struck the drum,
played “The Pool of Xian,”33
[and] raised the shield and battle-ax.
At that time, those who established martiality were viewed with suspicion. In the span of a single era, civility and martiality alternated as female and male; at the right time each was used.
In the present time,
those who practice martiality reject civility.
Those who practice civility reject martiality.
[Supporters of] civility and martiality oppose each other, but they do not understand timely utilization. Each sees only a finger pointing at one corner or angle and does not understand the length and greatness of all the eight points [of the horizon circle]. Therefore,
when one looks to the east, one does not see the western wall;
when one looks to the south, one does not see the north.
Only if one does not incline toward any side will one comprehend everything. [13/123/27–13/124/13]
The means by which a state survives is the Potency of the Way; the means by which its [ruling] family perishes is the obstruction of its principles.
Yao did not possess even a suburb of one hundred families;
Shun did not possess even enough territory in which to stick an awl;
yet they took possession of the world.
Yu did not possess even a group of ten men;
Tang did not possess even a distribution of seven li
yet they ruled as true kings over the Lords of the Land.
King Wen resided in the environs of Qi Zhou, and his territory did not exceed one hundred li; yet he was established as the Son of Heaven, for he possessed the Way of a True King.
During the height of Xia Jie and Yin Djou’s rule,
where human footsteps trod,
where boats and chariots penetrated,
no [lands] failed to become their prefectures and commandaries. Yet they personally died at the hands of other men and became the laughingstock of the world. These are cases of their losing sight of the shape of things. Thus, sages observe transformations and look for their [future] verification.
Potency has [times of] waxing and waning;
winds precede the budding of plants.
Thus those who attained the Way of the True King, though [initially] small, invariably became great.
While those who lost sight of the shape of things, though [initially] successful, invariably suffered defeat.
Now when Xia was about to perish, Grand Astrologer Zhong Gu first fled to Shang. In three years, Jie was already lost.
When Yin was about to collapse, Grand Astrologer Xiang Yi first returned home to King Wen. Within a year, [the tyrant] Djou was already lost.34
Thus when sages view
the traces of survival and destruction
and the borderline between success and defeat,
they do not [resort to]
reading animals’ cries in the wilderness
or [divining] the [auspiciousness of] jia and zi days.
Today,
those who are called strong prevail, measuring their territories and calculating their population.
Those who are called wealthy benefit, measuring their grain and weighing their gold.
This being the case,
among rulers of ten thousand chariots, there were none who did not become hegemon or king.
Among states of one thousand chariots there were none who were not destroyed or imperiled.
Since the traces of survival and destruction are like this, they are easy to recognize; even a foolish husband or daft wife could assess them.
Viscount Xiang of Zhao became preeminent because of the walls of Jinyang;
Earl Zhi was captured for the territory of the three Jin;
King Min was destroyed for the great state of Qi;
Tian Dan35 had merit because of Jimo.
Thus, when it comes to the destruction of a state, even if the state is large, it does not suffice to depend on its size.
When it comes to putting the Way into effect, even if the state is small, it does not suffice to take it lightly.
Looking at it from this perspective,
survival lies in obtaining the Way; it does not lie in being large.
Destruction lies in losing the Way; it does not lie in being small.
The Odes states:
“So he turned his gaze west,
and here made his dwelling place.”36
This says that [the High God] left Yin and moved to Zhou.
Thus the ruler of a chaotic state
strives to enlarge his territory but does not strive for Humaneness and Rightness;
strives to elevate his position but does not strive for the Way and its Potency.
This is to lose that by which one survives
and to create that by which one perishes.
Thus,
when Jie was taken captive at Jiaomen, he was not able to negate what he had put into effect; he [only] regretted that he had been unable to slay Tang at Xia Tai.
When Djou was fettered at Xuanshi, he did not reverse his errors; he [only] regretted that he had been unable to chastise King Wen at Qiaoli.
These two rulers enjoyed the positional advantage of strength and size, but cultivating the Way of Humaneness and Rightness, Tang and Wu sought out their faults and did not give up. What plans did they dare think up?
If above you disorder the brightness of the three luminaries
and below you lose the hearts of the myriad people,
even if you are a Tang or Wu, who would not be capable of usurping you?
Now,
if you do not look for [flaws] within yourself
but, on the contrary, search for them in others,
the world will be without a single Tang or Wu. If you kill a single person, that is something that will have repercussions for generations.
Moreover,
the reason why Tang and Wu, though occupying a small and weak position, could become king was because they possessed the Way.
The reason why Jie and Djou, though occupying a strong and great position, in the end witnessed their usurpation, was because they lacked the Way.
Now,
if you do not practice the means by which one becomes a king and,
on the contrary, increase the means by which one is usurped,
this is the path of speedy destruction. [13/124/15–13/125/6]
When King Wu vanquished Yin, he wanted to construct a palace on the Wuhang Mountains. The Duke of Zhou exclaimed: “It is not permissible! The Wuhang Mountains are a rugged, blocked, precipitous, and sheer place. If we conduct ourselves so that our Moral Potency can cover over them, those in the world who offer up tribute and knowledge will turn themselves toward us. If we engage in violent and disorderly conduct, the world will attack us when we are in difficulty.” For this reason, in thirty-six generations there was not [a single] usurpation. It can be said of the Duke of Zhou that he was able to “grasp when enough was enough.” [13/125/8–10]
In days of old, the Documents of Zhou37 had a saying that read:
“[Sometimes] one elevates words and denigrates practicalities;
[sometimes] one denigrates words and elevates practicalities.
Elevating words is the norm;
denigrating words is expedient.”
This is the technique for surviving in the face of destruction. [But] only a sage is capable of understanding expediency.
To speak and invariably elicit trust [and] to anticipate and invariably elicit a match are examples of lofty conduct in the world. When his father stole a sheep, “Straight Body” testified against him.38 When Wei Sheng and his wife were to meet, he died on account of it.39 Being upright and testifying against one’s father or being trustworthy and dying for one’s woman—although this may be upright and trustworthy, who would think it honorable?
Now when the Three Armies feign orders,40 the trespass is great indeed! [But] when Duke Mu of Qin raised an army to attack Zheng, he passed through Zhou and headed east. A merchant from Zheng named Xian Gao was heading west to sell his oxen. On the road he encountered the Qin forces between Zhou and Zheng, whereupon he feigned orders from the viscount of Zheng, feted them with twelve oxen, hosted them, and withdrew, thereby saving the state of Zheng.41 Thus events have their causes, so that
trustworthiness, contrary to expectation, might go too far,
and prevarication, contrary to expectation, may be meritorious.
What does it mean to abandon ritual yet be greatly meritorious? In the days of old, when King Gong of Chu42 [and Duke Li of Jin43] battled at Yinling,44 [Lü Qi45 shot an arrow at King Gong, hit him in the eye, and took him captive.]46 Shen Wang, Yang Youji, Huang Shuaiwei, and Gong Sunbing were in the midst of recapturing their sovereign when, in his fright, King Gong physically lost consciousness. Only when Huang Shuaiwei raised his foot to kick him in the gut did King Gong return to consciousness. Angry that Huang Shuaiwei had strayed from ritual protocol, King Gong aroused himself and stood up, and the four ministers [were able to] carry him off and leave.47
In the days of old, Cang Wurao48 married a wife who was beautiful and thus gave her to his elder brother. This is what is called being loyal and loving yet behaving incorrectly.
For this reason, when sages assess whether an affair be crooked or straight, they bend or stretch themselves and curl or straighten alongside it. They do not adhere to a constant standard, so sometimes they bend and other times they stretch. When they are weak and yielding like a thin sheaf of grass, they do not take or snatch. When they are resolute, strong, fierce, and bold and their wills are oppressive like gray clouds, they do not brag or boast. They thereby avail themselves of timeliness and respond to alterations. [3/125/12–22]
In the intercourse between ruler and minister, there is the bending of the knee and the humble salutation [of the subordinate], employing the rites of mutual respect. But when it comes to being pressed by a calamity, so that one raises a foot to kick one’s superior in the gut, no one in the world can repudiate such an action. For this reason, where loyalty is [securely] present, ritual norms are not sufficient to challenge it.
When the filial son serves his father, with pleasing expression and submissive posture he offers him his sash and lays out his shoes. But if the father is drowning, he grabs him by the hair and pulls him [out of the water]; this is not because he is presuming to be arrogant or haughty but because he means to rescue his father from death. Thus, when a father is drowning, to grab him by the hair and, when a ruler is celebrating, to call him by name—these things derive from the power of circumstance and so cannot be otherwise. This is what establishes the basis for expediency.
Thus Confucius said:
“A person might be suitable as someone with whom to study and yet not suitable as someone with whom to pursue the Way;
a person might be suitable as someone with whom to pursue the Way and yet not suitable as someone with whom to take a stand;
a man might be suitable as someone with whom to take a stand and yet not suitable as someone with whom to exercise expediency.”49
Expediency is something the sages alone perceive.
Thus, those who [first] disobey [ritual norms] but ultimately accord with them are said to understand expediency.
Those who first accord [with ritual norms] but later oppose them are said to lack an understanding of expediency.
For those who do not understand expediency, goodness conversely [appears to be] ugliness. Thus, ritual is the efflorescence of reality, but [people] mistakenly take it to be [mere] ornamentation. [So] when they are in the midst of being unexpectedly pressed by difficulties, exhausted and agitated, they have nothing to use [to cope with them]. For this reason, sages use
[external] ornamentation to communicate with the world
but [inner] reality to pursue affairs in a suitable way.
They are not bound by the path of [a single line of] footprints, becoming fixed and rigid so as to fail to transform. For this reason,
their unsuccessful affairs are few,
but their successful affairs are numerous;
their commands and directives fill the world, and no one can deny them. [13/125/24–13/126/3]
The orangutan knows the past but does not know the future;
the male goose knows the future but does not know the past.
Such is the distinction between long and short.
In the days of old, Chang Hong served as a calendrical specialist to the house of Zhou. With regard to the qi of Heaven and Earth, the movements of the sun and moon, the alterations of the winds and rain, and the calculations of the calendar, there was nothing he failed to comprehend. Yet he was incapable of self-knowledge and died by dismemberment when torn apart by the chariot.
Su Qin50 was a common mendicant, with no more than leather sandals and the open sky for his umbrella, yet be manipulated the rulers of ten thousand chariots and won the admiration of the Lords of the Land. But he did not avoid the calamity of being split by a chariot.
King Yan of Xu,51 with compassion and kindness as his bedding and clothes, personally practiced Humaneness and Rightness, and [those who resided in] no fewer than thirty-two states [traveled] overland to hold an audience with him. Yet he perished and his state was destroyed, with his sons and grandsons devoid of offspring.52
Grand Minister Zhong53 assisted and aided King Goujian of Yue, avenging his grievances and cleansing his shame, capturing Fuchai, and opening up for cultivation several thousand li of land. Yet he fell on the “Shu Lou” sword54 and died.
These all are examples of comprehending the linchpin of order and disorder yet not understanding the basis of keeping one’s nature intact.
Thus,
Chang Hong understood the Way of Heaven, but he did not understand human affairs;
Su Qin understood expedient strategies, but he did not understand bad and good fortune;
King Yan of Xu understood Humaneness and Rightness, but he did not understand timeliness;
and Grand Minister Zhong understood loyalty, but he did not understand strategy. [13/126/5–12]
Sages are not like this.
They assess the age and determine their actions accordingly;
they weigh affairs and devise their strategies accordingly.
For this reason,
they propagate them throughout the [vastness of] the world, but they are not isolated;
they contain them within the [smallness of] a xun and chang, but they are not obstructed. [13/126/14–15]
When [a ruler] causes the world to be desolate and chaotic,
Rites and Rightness are cut off;
bonds and ties are dispensed with.
The strong take advantage of the weak;
attackers force the submission of the vanquished;
minister and ruler lack hierarchical distinction;
the noble and the humble lack deferential order;
armor and helmets become infested with lice and fleas;
swallows and sparrows roost in the tents and canopies;
so that the soldiers never get any rest. At that point, he may begin to adopt a cautious demeanor and [conduct] reverent rites, but [it will be too late and] he will invariably be destroyed with no possibility of being restored.
When [a ruler causes] the world to be secure and peaceful,
administration and instruction are harmonious and equitable;
the one hundred names [i.e., the common people] are reverent and affable;
superiors and subordinates are mutually affectionate.
At that point, [the ruler] might begin to establish an atmosphere of leniency. [If so,] he will embolden the courageous and strong and so will be unable to avoid falling subject to the laws of those who have authority.
For this reason,
sages can be yin, and they can be yang;
they can be weak, and they can be strong;
in tempo with the times, they are active or still;
in accordance with the inner substance of things, they establish merit.
When things become active, they know their reversions;
when affairs sprout forth, they anticipate their alterations;
when things transform, they act in their image;
when things move, they respond to them;
this is why to the end of their days, they are effective and free of troubles. [13/126/15–20]
Precedents and affairs [have]
some that can be practiced but cannot be discussed,
some that can be discussed but cannot be practiced,
some that are easy to do but difficult to perfect,
some that are difficult to perfect but easy to ruin.
What is meant by “can be practiced but cannot be discussed” is pursuing and abandoning.
What is meant by “can be discussed but cannot be practiced” is lying and cheating.
What is “easy to do but difficult to perfect” is management.
What is “difficult to perfect but easy to ruin” is a reputation.
These four tendencies are things that the sages uniquely see and where they focus their minds.
Curling up to the shortness of an inch or extending to the length of a foot are things the sages do.
Minimizing wrongs and maximizing rights are things the Superior Man practices.
The Duke of Zhou was saddled with the burden of killing a brother,
and Duke Huan of Qi had a reputation for competing with other states.
Yet the Duke of Zhou relied on Rightness to compensate for his shortcomings,
and Duke Huan relied on his merit to eradicate evil,
so that both became worthies.
Now if on account of others’ insignificant errors, you conceal their significant goodness, the world will be bereft of sage-kings and worthy ministers.
Thus,
if at the center of the eye there is a blemish, it does not harm one’s vision, [though] it cannot be cauterized by burning.
If at the center of the throat there is a defect, it does not harm one’s breathing, [though] it cannot be cut away.
The mounds and hillocks along the riverbank are too numerous to be counted, but [the riverbank] is still considered level.
When water surges to give rise to waves, the high and the low approach each other and can differ [in height] by a xun or a chang, yet we consider the [water] to be level.
In days of old, Caozi55 commanded an army on behalf of Lu. Three times in battle he was not victorious and lost thousands of li in territory. If Caozi had persisted in his plans and had not reversed course, had [planted his] feet without budging, he [might have] had his throat cut at Chenzhong or ended his days as the captive commander of a defeated army. But Caozi was not embarrassed by his defeat and did not die in shame and without merit. [Instead], during the interstate meeting at Ke, he took a sword three feet long and pointed it at the midriff of Duke Huan [of Qi]. Thus the effects of three defeats in battle were reversed in the course of a morning. His courage was heralded throughout the world, and his accomplishments were established in the state of Lu.56
Guan Zhong assisted Prince Jiu,57 but with no good outcome. It cannot be said that he was wise. He escaped and hastily fled, failing to die during [his lord’s] troubles. It cannot be said that he was brave.58
When you are bound and tied in fetters and manacles and cannot avoid being shamed, it cannot be said that you are lucky.
If you correspond to these three [kinds of] conduct, the commonly clad [i.e., the people] will not offer their friendship, and the ruler of men will be bereft of true ministers. Yet Guan Zhong avoided the inside of prisons, established the government of the state of Qi, nine times united the Lords of the Land, and unified and rectified the world. If Guang Zhong had sought death by sacrificing his life and had not [been willing to] reverse his plans, what hegemonic merit would there have been in this? [13/126/22–13/127/6]
Now when the ruler of men assesses his ministers, if he
does not calculate their significant achievements
or evaluate their overall conduct
but [instead] seeks out their petty merits,
he will lose [the services of] worthies in untold numbers.
Thus,
when someone possesses generous amounts of Moral Potency, none notes their trifling matters,
and when someone possesses a great reputation, none faults their small excuses.
A puddle in a cow’s hoofprint59 cannot [suffice to] give birth to a sturgeon.
A bee’s honeycomb cannot hold a goose egg.60
A small form is not sufficient to embrace a large body. [13/127/8–10]
Now, it is the essential quality of humankind to possess shortcomings.
Truly,
if in general they are correct, even if they commit minor transgressions, it will not be sufficient to be considered burdensome.
If in general they are incorrect, even if they have some rustic accomplishments, it would not be enough to [qualify them for] a great promotion.
Yan Zhuoju61 was a great bandit of [Mount] Liangfu, but he became a loyal minister to the state of Qi.
Duangan Mu62 was a swindler in the state of Jin, but he became a teacher to the Duke of Wen.
Meng Mao63 married his sister-in-law and had five sons by her. Yet when he became minister in Wei, he quelled its danger and relieved its suffering.
Jing Yang64 was licentious and drunken, unloosing hairpins and forcing himself on his wives, yet he awed the Lords of the Land into submission.
These four men all possessed weaknesses, yet their meritorious reputation was not eradicated, for their general conduct was efficacious.65
Ji’ai66 and Chen Zhongzi67 established their purity with their unyielding conduct. They would not enter the court of a corrupt ruler; they would not eat food [produced during] an unrighteous age. Subsequently they starved to death and died. Were they not able to survive in the face of danger or continue [their lineages] in the face of being cut off? As their trivial acts of purity expanded, the significance of their general conduct contracted.
Those who are small-minded and cautious do not enjoy great accomplishments.
Those who calculate their actions do not find acceptance by the masses.
A large-bodied person is long in the joints.
A person with a long stride can go high and far.
From antiquity to the present, [even among] the Five Emperors and Three Kings, there were none who perfected their conduct. Thus the Changes says: “Should minor transgressions prosper, beneficial and lucky.”68 This means that there is not a single person who does not err, but one hopes [the errors] will not be great. [13/127/10–21]
Yao, Shun, Tang, and Wu were eminent rulers of their age.
Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin were the martial and brave of the Five Hegemons.69
Yet
Yao had a reputation for being unloving;
Shun slandered his humble father;
Tang and Wu were implicated in liberating murderers,
and the Five Hegemons70 produced schemes [that led to] tyranny and disorder.71
For this reason, the Superior Man does not place the entire blame [for something] on a single person.
If he is square and correct, [the Superior Man] does not make mincemeat of him;
If he is incorruptible and upright, [the Superior Man] does not slice him to death;
If he is expansive and penetrating, [the Superior Man] does not slander him;
If he is civil or martial, [the Superior Man] does not upbraid him. When he makes demands on others, he does so in accordance with their strength.
When he reforms himself, he does so in accordance with the Way’s Potency.
If you make demands on others in accordance with their strength, it is easy to get what you want;
if you cultivate yourself by relying on the Way’s Potency, it is difficult to do.
If it is difficult to do, then carrying it out will be lofty;
if it is easy to get what you want, then seeking it will suffice.
Now,
[even] the jade half disk of the Xiahou clan72 cannot be without [some flaw] on examination;
the Moonglow Pearl cannot be without [some imperfection] on classification.
Yet they are [among] the great treasures of the world. Why? Their slight imperfections do not suffice to obstruct their great beauty.
Now if you set your mind on others’ shortcomings and forget others’ strengths yet seek to obtain worthies throughout the empire, it will be difficult indeed! [13/127/22–27]
Now [regarding]
Baili Xi’s cooking the calf,
Yi Yin’s shouldering the tripod,
The Grand Duke’s drumming on his sword,
and Ning Qi’s singing a song in the shang mode:
The beauty of these things was inherent [in the acts themselves]. [But] the masses saw [only] their humble and lowly position and treated them with rudeness; they did not recognize the larger meaning of their actions and considered them to be worthless. But when [these men] rose to the rank of Son of Heaven or [one of] the Three Dukes or became a Lord of the Land or worthy minister, only then did [the masses] begin to believe that such people differed from the average person.
Now take
[a cook] who emerges from amid the tripods and stands,
[a glutton] who comes out of the butcher’s or wine seller’s shop,
[a cowherd] who rises from below a cow’s horn,
[a felon] liberated from bonds and fetters:
Clean him up with a hot bath,
warm him by a fire,
and set him up at the pinnacle of the present dynasty
or rely on him to take the position of one of the Three Dukes;
at home he will not feel shame before the great families of state,
while abroad he will not be abashed before the Lords of the Land;
his tally of office and his positional power will be inwardly in conformity.
Thus as for knowing that someone is worthy before his achievements have been manifested, only Yao knew Shun. But to know someone is worthy after his achievements have been accomplished and his tasks brought to success, all the people in the marketplace [then] knew Shun. Now if on account of this [i.e., Yao’s extraordinary ability to recognize merit], you abandon measures and methods and seek out good men in the morning market or among weeds and thickets, you would surely miss many [competent] people. Why is this so? You may imitate them in searching but you will not know the means by which they chose people. [13/128/1–7]
Now what confuse and bewilder people of the present age are the comparative categories of things.
What bedazzle and baffle the masses are things that are deceptively alike in a doubtful and suspicious way.
Thus,
fierceness is [sometimes] categorized as “knowledge,” but it is [fundamentally] not knowledge.
Foolishness is [sometimes] categorized as “humaneness,” but it is [fundamentally] not humaneness.
Stupidity is [sometimes] categorized as “courage,” but it is [fundamentally] not courage.
If we could make the comparative differences among people [as evident as]
the comparison between jade and stone
or the comparison between beauty and ugliness,
then assessing people would be easy. Now what confuses people is like
makino being taken for Ligusticum,
or Cnidi fructus being taken for deer parsley,73
they all look like one another.
Thus,
a swordsmith might wonder whether a sword resembles [the famous sword] Moye, but only [a master like] Ou the Smelter can name its type.
A jade worker might be in the dark about whether a jade resembles Bilu [azure jade], but only [a master like] Qi Dun74 will not lose sight of its essential qualities.
A benighted lord might be confused by seductive ministers who say that a petty man resembles a Superior Man, but only a sage can see what is obscured, thereby knowing what is evident.
Thus,
if a snake raises its head a foot, its length can be known;
if an elephant reveals its tusk, its size can be assessed.
If Zhuyongzi of Xue75 saw [a piece of] a sword the size of a fingernail,76 he could judge the sharpness of the sword.
If the water of the Zai and Sheng rivers were combined, Yu Er77 and Yi Ya would taste one mouthful, and their respective flavors [lit., “bitter and sweet”] would be recognized.
Thus when sages assess worthiness, they observe a single action and [from it] distinguish worthiness or worthlessness.
Confucius refused the fief of Granary Hill, [and] in the end he would not steal emolument;78
Xu You yielded the empire, [and] in the end he did not value land or title.
Thus,
those who have never been burned [even so] do not dare to grasp fire because they recognize that it burns;
those who have never been injured [even so] do not dare grasp a blade because they recognize that it injures.
Looking at the issue from this perspective, the observer can assess what has yet to unfold; and by watching trifling things, it will suffice to know significant entities.
Thus [this is] the Way of assessing others:
If they are noble, observe what they acclaim;
if they are wealthy, observe what they bestow;
if they are exhausted, observe what they refuse to accept;
if they are lowly, observe what they refuse to do;
if they are impoverished, observe what they refuse to take.
Watch them when pressed by hardship to know their courage;
arouse them with happiness and joy to observe their steadfastness;
entice them with goods and property to assess their Humaneness;
startle them with fear and loathing to know their self-restraint.
Then the feelings of others will be fully [apparent to you]. [13/128/9–21]
In antiquity,
those who excelled at rewarding rewarded the few, and the many were encouraged;
those who excelled at punishing punished sparingly, and licentiousness was stopped;
those who excelled at giving used restraint and put Potency into practice;
those who excelled at taking brought in the many and prevented resentment.
When Viscount Xiang of Wei was surrounded in Jinyang, he broke the siege and rewarded the five men who were meritorious, and Gao He79 was the first to be rewarded. Those who flanked him to the right and left exclaimed: “As for the hardships at Jinyang, [Gao] did not possess any great merit, yet today he is the first to be rewarded. Why?”
Viscount Xiang of Wei responded, “During the siege of Jinyang, our altars to the soil and grain were endangered, and our state and families were imperiled. Among our numerous officials, there was not one who did not harbor a proud and arrogant heart, [but] only He did not stray from the ritual pertaining to ruler and minister.” Thus through the rewarding of this one man, those who served as ministers in the world, without exception to the end of their lives, showed loyalty to their ruler. This is an example of rewarding the few to encourage the many.80
When King Wei of Qi set up the grand ding vessel at the center of his court, he upbraided the commander of Wuyan, saying: “Your acclaim daily reaches my ears. [Yet] having examined your actions, I find that your cultivated fields are overgrown with weeds, your granaries are empty, and your prisons are full. You rely on treachery to serve me.” Then [the king] had him boiled alive. In the state of Qi for thirty-two years thereafter, none who traveled the roads and byways picked up any items left on the road. This is an example of punishing sparingly so that treachery is stopped.
Duke Mu of Qin was traveling abroad when his chariot broke down, and his right-hand assistant lost control of the horses. Some local rustics caught them. Duke Mu of Qin followed them in pursuit to the southern slope of Mount Ji. There he observed that the local rustics had just cooked the horses and were eating them. Duke Mu of Qin exclaimed: “If you eat the meat of a fine steed but do not follow it with a drink of wine, you will harm yourselves. I fear this harm will befall you.” Then he passed out drinks and went away.
That same year, Duke Mu of Qin waged a war with Duke Hui of Jin at Hann[yuan]. The Jin forces surrounded Duke Mu’s chariot. Just as Liang Youma grabbed the reins of the two outside horses of the four-abreast team and was about to take Duke Mu captive, the three hundred or so men who had dined on the meat of Duke Mu’s horse, disregarding death, fought to the bitter end below Duke Mu’s chariot. Subsequently they defeated Jin and, contrary to expectation, captured Duke Hui and returned home. This is an example of using moderation to put Potency into practice.81
Duke Huan of Qi was hoping to launch a punitive expedition. His armor and weapons being insufficient, he directed those who had committed serious crimes to contribute armor of rhinoceros hide and a glaive. Those who had committed light offenses were fined gold in accordance with [the severity of their crime]. Those who brought suit [against someone] and did not win had to contribute one quiver of arrows.82 The common people all were pleased by this. So they straightened plant stems to make arrows and smelted metal to make knives, in order to attack the unjust and punish those who had lacked the Way. Thereupon [Duke Huan] became hegemon of the world.83 This is an example of bringing in the many and so preventing resentment.
Thus sages
accord with what the people like and thereby encourage them to do good;
accord with what the people hate and therefore put a stop to wantonness.
When they reward a single person, the whole world praises them;
when they punish a single person, the whole world fears them.
Thus,
the best rewards are not wasteful;
the best punishments are not excessive.
When Confucius punished Vice-Director Mao,84 evil in the state of Lu was obstructed;85 when Zi Chan punished Deng Xi,86 wantonness in the state of Zheng was stopped.87
They used what was near to assess what was distant;
they used what was small to know what was great.
Thus sages preserve frugality and govern broadly. This is what is meant. [13/128/23– 13/129/11]
In the world,
nothing is easier than doing good,
and nothing is harder than doing evil.
What is meant by “doing good” is to be quiescent and non-active;
what is meant by “doing evil” is to be impulsive and harbor many desires.
If you accord with your feelings and eschew excess, there will be nothing to entice and mislead you;
if you follow your nature and preserve your authenticity, there will be no alteration to yourself.
Thus I say: To do good is easy.
To clamber over city walls;
to sneak around precipices and barriers,
to feign tallies of authority,
to rob offices of their gold,
or to commit regicide and usurpation and [presume to] carry out punishments in the ruler’s name; such actions are not in the nature of human beings. Thus I say: To do evil is difficult.
Now the reason why people commit crimes that bring imprisonment or sink into the calamities of mutilating punishments is that [their] lusts and desires are not satiated and they do not comply with limits and measures. How do I know that this is so? The laws of the district magistrates across the world state: “Those who open graves will be executed; those who steal will be punished.” These [are the measures] employed to uphold order. Now,
laws and ordinances entrap wickedness and depravity,
and restraints and fetters follow in the footsteps [of crime].
Neither a foolish husband nor a daft wife fails to know that if they commit evil there is no escape and if they defy the prohibitions they will not obtain a pardon. Yet no-account children fail to restrain their desires and so commit crimes that warrant the death penalty or suffer the disgrace of undergoing judicial mutilation. Moreover, after the beginning of autumn,88 the troops of the commandant of justice ceaselessly bring [criminals] to the town gates, so that the blood of those put to death in the market flows copiously into the streets. Why so? They are led astray by the pursuit of wealth and advantage so that they become blind to the calamity of the death sentence.
Now [suppose that] foot soldiers are lined up in military formation, with opposing armies facing each other, and the commanders gives the order, saying: “Those who behead [the enemy] will be rewarded with noble rank, while those who duck or flinch will be beheaded.” The front line of soldiers will not be able [i.e., will be afraid] to advance and pursue the merit of beheading the enemy, while the rear ranks [unable to engage the enemy] will suffer the punishment of being beheaded. This is to avoid the fear of death and pursue the inevitability of death. Thus the reversions of benefit and harm, the meeting of good and bad fortune, must be investigated. [13/129/13–23]
With regard to actions,
there are some that you want to carry out, but circumstances warrant that you abandon them;
there are some that you want to avoid, but circumstances warrant that you pursue them.
There was a man of Chu who boarded a boat and encountered a typhoon. The waves were upon him, and in his fright he threw himself into the water. It is not that he did not covet life and fear death but that sometimes in fearing death, you commit the contradiction of being forgetful of your life. Thus human lusts and desires are also like this.
Among the people of Qi was someone who stole gold. Just when the market was most crowded, he arrived, grabbed it, and fled. When held by force and asked: “Why did you steal gold from the market?” He responded: “I did not see anyone, I only saw gold.” When the mind is preoccupied with desires, it forgets what it does. For this reason, sages
scrutinize the alterations of movement and rest,
accord with the due measures of receiving and giving,
order the feelings of liking and loathing,
and harmonize with the occasions of happiness and anger.
When [the distinctions of] movement and rest are attained, calamities will not be encountered;
when receiving and giving are in accord, crimes will not accumulate;
when liking and loathing are ordered, anxiety will not come near;
when happiness and anger are in [proper] occasion, resentment will not encroach.
Thus, those who have achieved the Way are not indifferent to obtaining [things] but are not ravenous for wealth;
what they have, they do not abandon,
but what they do not have, they do not seek.
They are constantly full but not overflowing;
they persevere in emptiness but are easily satisfied. [13/129/25–13/130/4]
Now the rain that drips from the eaves is sufficient to fill to overflowing a hu vessel, but the waters of the Yangzi and Yellow Rivers cannot fill a leaking zhi cup.89 Thus the human heart is like this. If you make yourself conform to the Techniques of the Way in measurement and limitation, food will fill the emptiness; clothes will block the cold; and it will suffice to care for the body of one seven feet tall.90 But if you lack the Techniques of the Way in measurement and limitation and try to practice restraint and moderation on your own, the positional advantage of ten thousand chariots will not suffice to make you honored, and all the wealth in the world will not suffice to make you happy. [13/130/6–8]
Sunshu Ao thrice declined the post of prime minister but was free of a worried expression, for rank and emolument could not entangle him.
Ci Fei of Jing [encountered] two scaly dragons that wrapped around his boat, but his mind was not moved, for strange creatures could not startle him.91
When the minds of sages are regulated and their wills are at ease, their essence and spirit are preserved within,92 so that things are not sufficient to mislead them. [13/130/8–10]
If a drunkard endeavors to enter the city gates, he will consider it to be like the seven-foot [door to] the women’s quarters.
If he is crossing the Yangzi or the Huai River, he will consider it to be a ditch no [wider than] a xun or a chang.
The wine has muddled his spirit.
When a nervous person sees a standing gnomon at night, he will take it to be a ghost;
when he sees an oddly shaped rock, he will take it to be a tiger.
Fear has seized his qi. How much truer is this for the strange creatures of the world!
When male and female join in intercourse and yin and yang cleave to each other, then feathered creatures produce chicks and fledglings, [and] furry creatures produce foals and calves. The soft parts become skin and flesh; the hard parts become teeth and bones. People do not find this strange. [Likewise,] when water gives birth to waterbugs and clams, or mountains give birth to gold and jade, people do not find it strange. [Likewise,] when an old locust tree bursts into flame or dried blood becomes phosphorescent, people do not find it strange. But when mountains give off Xiaoyang, water gives birth to Wangxiang, wood gives birth to Bifang, and wells give birth to Fenyang, people find it strange.93 Since they hear and observe them infrequently, their knowledge of these things is superficial. The strange things of the world are matters about which sages have a unique vision; the reversions of benefit and harm are matters about which the knowledgeable have a unique understanding and comprehension.94 [13/130/12–17] [But] identifying and differentiating the suspicious and the doubtful are what confuse and befuddle the common people of our age.
Because [sages]
see things that cannot be generally made known within the [Four] Seas,
and hear things that cannot be made clear to the masses of people,
they therefore make use of [vulgar beliefs in] ghosts and spirits and inauspicious and auspicious omens to establish prohibitions for them, and they generalize shapes and expand categories to alter appearances95 for them. How do we know this is so? The proverbs of the common people of our age say:
“In the great sacrifice to the Most High Ones, a pig may serve as the supreme sacrificial animal”;
or, “when interring a dead person, it is not necessary to place his fur garments in the tomb”;
or, “when two people are engaging in swordplay, the Grand Ancestor will bump them on the elbow”;
or, “whoever lies down with his head pillowed on a door frame, the ghosts and spirits will step on his head.”
But none of these are written in the laws and ordinances or handed down among the oral teachings of the sages.
Now that in the great sacrifice to the Most High Ones, the pig is considered the supreme sacrificial animal is not because it is superior to wild animals such as deer or that [those having] spirit illumination uniquely savor it. So what about it? It is simply because householders generally raise pigs and so they are easily obtained; therefore they are [really] honored because of their convenience.
That when burying a dead person his fur garments are not entombed with him is not because [the fur garments] are better than silk or cotton cloth at warming the body. Rather, it is because the world considers fur to be something that is difficult to obtain and high priced, and it can be passed on to the next generation. Whereas it is of no advantage to the deceased, it can [be used to] care for the living. Thus in accordance with its value, its use [as grave goods] is avoided.
[The reason it is said that] when two people are engaging in swordplay, the Grand Ancestor will bump them on the elbow is that when engaging in swordplay, [the participants inevitably] must have accidents, and if they accidentally injure each other, the rancor necessarily will be great. The enmity from a bloodless match becomes angry combat, and what is a small matter in itself [escalates into] something involving mutilating punishment. This is because the foolish do not know to restrain themselves,, so [the sages] rely on the Grand Ancestor to constrain their minds.96
Now [it is said that] if anyone lies down with his head pillowed on a door frame, the ghosts and spirits will leave footprints on his head. If ghosts and spirits can mysteriously be transformed, they will not rely on doorways and windows to come and go. If in accordance with their ethereal quality they come and go, then likewise they cannot tread on things. Now the doorway and windows are things that windy qi passes through, and windy qi is the coarse and bulky stuff of yin and yang. Those who encounter it necessarily fall ill. Therefore we rely on the ghosts and spirits to warn and caution them.
Now all things of this kind are not of the sort that can successfully be written down in annals and documents of bamboo or silk and kept in official archives; therefore we use blessings and portents to make them clear. When simpletons do not know enough [to realize] their own transgressions, we rely on the terrors of ghosts and spirits to teach them a lesson. This is something that arose in the far-distant [past]. If the gullible [really] think that there are blessings and portents, and the fearless think that there are not, only one who has the Way can figure out what they are thinking. [13/130/19–13/131/4]
That the present age sacrifices
to the well and the stove, the gate and the door,
the basket and the broom and the mortar and pestle,
is not because these spirits are able to enjoy these sacrifices but because [people] presume on and rely on their Potency, so that hardship and suffering will not visit them personally. For this reason, when people in season observe the Potency [of these spirits], they do not [afterward] forget their efficacy.
[The clouds] touch its stones and disperse,
spread over every inch [of the land] and gather,
and in the space of one morning bring rain to the whole world.
[This happens] only on Mount Tai.97
They flow ceaselessly, though the world reddens with drought for three years,
and moisten [an area] extending one hundred li, soaking the grass and trees with water.
Only the Yangzi and the Huai rivers:
This is why the Son of Heaven sacrifices to them in accordance with their rank.
Thus,
if there is a horse that has saved someone from danger, when it dies people bury it with its carapace for a shroud.
If there is an ox that has been virtuous toward a person, when it dies people bury it with the passenger box of a large carriage for its burial mat.
If when an ox or horse is meritorious, it cannot be forgotten, how much more so is this the case with people? This is the reason why sages emphasize humaneness and embrace kindness.
Thus Yan Di98 invented fire. When he died, he became the [god of the] kitchen.
Yu used his strength to the fullest extent on behalf of the world. When he died, he became the [god of the] soil.
Lord Millet invented sowing and reaping. When he died, he became the [god of the] grain.
Yi [the Archer] eradicated harm from the world. When he died, he became the [god of the] ancestral shrine.
This is why ghosts and spirits were set up [to receive sacrifices]. [13/131/6–13]
There was a man in northern Chu who became a vigilante. His sons implored him to give it up, but he would not listen. Some bandits in the district undertook a massive search to determine his whereabouts. Eventually he was discovered; surprised, at night he fled. Pursuing him, [the bandits] caught up to him on the road. Those on whose behalf he had striven99 all fought for him. He got out of it unscathed and returned home. He said to his sons: “You repeatedly [tried to] stop me from acting as a vigilante. Now there was trouble, and in the end I relied on everyone100 and got away. Your remonstrances were of no use.” He knew how to save himself when there was trouble, but he did not know how to avoid trouble altogether. If you assess affairs in this way, will not the outcome be in doubt?
A man from Song was about to marry off his daughter. He said to his child, “This marriage may not turn out successfully. If it looks like you will be sent away, you had better have some savings of your own. If you have something saved up and are rich, it will be easy to marry again later.” The child listened to her father’s scheme and stole [some money] and hid it away. When her lord and master realized she was a thief, he expelled her from the house. Her father did not repudiate her but, on the contrary, reaped the benefits of his scheme. He knew that [if a bride were] expelled [she should have] saved up money, but he did not know about saving up money and therefore being expelled. If you assess matters in this way, will not the outcome be a surprise!? [13/131/15–22]
Now suppose someone were looking for something to haul freight and sought out a single cart to do the job. [He reasoned that] if a single ox exerted all its strength, the axle might break, so he added another cart shaft to make it more secure. He did not know that it is the pressure of the cart shaft itself that makes the axle break!
The king of Chu wore a jade circlet at his waist. He went hunting rabbits, and as a result of his movement, the jade circlet broke. So [next time] he wore two jade circlets at his waist, in order to be prepared. But the two jade circlets banged together, and so their destruction was hastened.
The government of a chaotic state much resembles these examples. [13/131/24–28]
Now,
the eyes of the owl are large, but its vision does not compare with that of the rat;
the feet of the millipede are numerous, but its speed does not compare with that of a snake.
With things, it is certainly true that there are instances in which
being large does not compare with being small,
or being numerous does not compare with being few.
When it comes to
the strength within weakness and the weakness within strength,
the danger within safety and the survival within destruction,
if not for a sage, who could see it! Greatness or smallness, honor or disgrace, [alone] do not suffice for an assessment to be made. Only the Way that resides in each is to be valued. How can I clarify this point?
When the Son of Heaven takes up residence in his suburban pavilion, the Nine Ministers hasten to him, and the grandees follow along; those who are seated prostrate themselves, and those who are leaning [against the walls] set themselves in order. Meanwhile [to prepare for] a great audience in the Mingtang, [the Son of Heaven]
hangs up his hat, takes off his sword,
undoes his sash, and retires.
It is not that the suburban pavilion is large or that the audience hall is narrow and cramped but that the most highly honored reside there.
Now the nobility of the Way of Heaven does not depend on whatever the Son of Heaven holds in esteem. Wherever it resides, the masses welcome it. When hibernating insects [emerge] and jays nest, they all turn toward the Supreme One. Perfect Harmony lies precisely in this and nothing else. When the emperor sincerely embraces the Way and cleaves to Perfect Harmony, then [even] the birds and beasts, grasses and trees, do not fail to come under his beneficent influence. Is this not even more true for the people themselves? [13/131/30–13/132/6]
Translated by Sarah A. Queen, John S. Major, and Michael Puett
1. There is a good deal of commentarial disagreement about the exact nature of these garments, but the point of the sentence is clear: ancient rulers wore simple clothing rather than elaborate royal regalia. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1332n.2.
2. That is, the nests were made low to the ground because birds had no fear of humans. These lines appear to have been inspired by Xunzi, chap. 31.3, Duke Ai. See Xiong Gongzhe 
, ed., Xunzi jinzhu jinyi 
(Taibei: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1975), 626; compare the translation by Knoblock 1988, 3:261.
3. Bai xing 
(lit., “hundred surnames”), a standard term for the people as a whole.
4. Bo Yu 
, according to Gao You, was a minister of the Yellow Emperor. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1336n.17.
5. The regulation is quoted from the Gongyang Commentary, Duke Yin, year 2, month 9. See Chunqiu, Duke Yin, II.5.
6. Mencius 4A:26 and 5A:2. The first passage cited notes, “There are three ways of being a bad son. The most grave is failing to produce an heir. Shun married without telling his father because he feared not having an heir. To the gentleman, this was as good as having told his father” (Legge 1895, vol. 2, Mencius, 313). The suggestion seems to be that Shun’s actions were ultimately approved by Confucius because when weighing the different expressions of filial piety—announcing one’s bride to one’s father or taking a wife to some day produce an heir—Shun weighed the moral choices at hand and made the correct choice.
7. Bo Yikao 
, King Wen’s eldest son, was boiled alive by King Djou.
8. The “Great Measure” 
is recorded as the music of Yao in LSCQ 5.5.
9. Zhang Shuangdi generally reconciles this historical musicology with that presented in 11.9. He identifies the “Great Xia” 
with the “Pipes of Xia” (1997, 2:1346n.18). He moreover claims that the two characters wu xiang 
are not a single musical form but a contraction of the two forms attributed to King Wu in 11.9 (1997, 2:1346n.20). We follow his reading here. For more background on all these musical forms, see the notes to 11.9.
10. Duke Zhao of Lu 
reigned from 541 to 510 B.C.E.
11. This story is recorded in Liji 7.
12. Dates are not known for the lord of Yang 
and the lord of Liao 
, if in fact they ever lived. Gao You explains that in antiquity it was the custom of both husband and wife to serve their guests at a feast but that on seeing the beauty of Liao’s wife, Yang was moved to murder. The story is cited in Liji 31. Zheng Xuan’s commentary to that passage notes that these figures’ states are unknown, in which case Yang and Liao would be posthumous titles (thus they would be Marquis Yang and Marquis Liao). See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1347–48n.24.
13. Laozi 1.
14. Guan 
and Cai 
(more often cited as Guan Shu 
and Cai Shu 
) were brothers of King Wu who rebelled against the authority of their nephew, the young King Cheng, and were executed by the Duke of Zhou, who was acting as regent. See also 11.18, 20.14, and 20.25; and chap. 21, n. 31.
15. It is difficult to convey the sense of yishi 
in a short English phrase. It refers to a type of political instability in which rule devolves rapidly from grandfather to son to grandson.
16. Quan 
in this phrase refers to the ruler’s moral, as well as political, equilibrium—literally, a weight that will balance the scale. The term is an important concept in the philosophy of Mencius. See his example of a drowning woman who needs to be rescued. Ritual forbids her brother-in-law from touching her, but he nevertheless grabs her by the hand to save her life. He is said to have adopted a balanced position between a ritual requirement and a moral imperative. See Mencius 4A.17.
17. Ren yi wei jing, yi yi wei ji 
,
; ji 
, a “skein of threads,” is often used as a synonym for “weft.”
18. Bocheng Zigao 
, a Lord of the Land, was appointed by Yao but resigned his rank on the appointment of Shun to be Son of Heaven, complaining that government had become too burdensome and complex. His story is recorded in Lüshi chunqiu 20.2.
19. Chen Chengchang 
(also known as Tian Chang and Tian Heng), leader of the Tian clan in Qi, served as prime minister under Duke Jian. In 481 B.C.E., he killed the duke and established his brother as Duke Ping. From that point forward, the Tian clan was ever more firmly in control of Qi, until it finally replaced the Lü clan altogether as rulers of Qi in 379 B.C.E.
20. Chiyi Zipi 
, a follower of Tian Chang identified by some commentators with Fan Li 
, was a fugitive aristocrat from Chu who ultimately settled in Qi after the fall of Yue. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1372–74n.15.
21. See 10.95. There the implied reason for Ziyang’s death is somewhat different from that presented here.
22. Of these figures, Gao You notes that they were “skilled at singing.” See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1377n.24. Little other lore concerning them survives in extant texts.
23. Yi biao 
, literally, “sundial and gnomon,” but metaphorically the instruments that set a standard of accuracy.
24. Lou Bi 
and Zhai Qiang 
were simultaneously employed as high officials of the Wei court under King Ai (r. 318–296 B.C.E.). They felt intense mutual animosity and worked at cross-purposes to each other in planning foreign policy, thereby bringing disaster on Wei. See Zhanguoce 317B (James I. Crump, trans., Chan-kuo Ts ’e, rev. ed., Michigan Monographs in Chinese Studies, vol. 77 [Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1996], 385–87). The extant text of the Huainanzi contains the name of Wu Qi here directly after the contracted names of Lou Bi and Zhai Qiang, but Gu Guangqi 
argues persuasively on the basis of a parallel passage from HFZ 36/117/14–15 that Wu Qi’s name must be an extraneous interpolation at this point in the text. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1378n.6.
25. King Min of Qi 
(r. 300–284 B.C.E.) was exceedingly powerful for a time, expanding his territories through aggressive conquests. He agreed with King Zhao of Qin on their mutual recognition as “thearchs” 
of the West and East, respectively. Ultimately, his belligerence brought the enmity of the other states on him, and he was driven from his capital and to death by a combined army under the command of the Yan general Yue Yi.
26. Nao Chi 
(d. 284 B.C.E.) was a general of Chu employed by King Min as prime minister. According to one account, when King Min was driven from his capital, Nao Chi, in an attempt to curry favor with the victors, seized King Min, pulled out his tendons, and suspended him by them from a bridge at a place called Miao (here Dongmiao).
27. Yangzi 
(also known as Yang Zhu 
[fourth century B.C.E.]) was a philosopher famously said to have declared that he would not sacrifice a hair off his arm to save the world. Little is known of his origins or history, and he is not reported to have left any writings, but according to the testimony of many early texts, he and his followers were quite influential at the height of the Warring States period.
28. These two lines also appear in 6.1, where they are used in connection with Duke Lu Yang’s miraculous victory in a battle with Hann.
29. Mencius 
(also known as Meng Ke 
[ca. 390–305 B.C.E.]) was a latter-day disciple of Confucius and a follower of the tradition of Confucius’s grandson Zisi. He traveled to many states in search of a sovereign who could become a true king. The text attributed to him, the Mencius, ultimately became one of the most influential works of the Confucian tradition.
30. All these are peoples or countries beyond the area of Sinitic culture and political control.
31. Emperor Gao 
(also known as Han Gaozu and Liu Bang [265–195 B.C.E., r. 206–195 B.C.E.]) was the founder of the Han dynasty and grandfather of Liu An, eponymous patron of the Huainanzi. He rose from humble origins to unite the realm in the wake of the collapse of the Qin dynasty.
32. It also is possible to read these two lines as “He continued the undertakings of [King] Wen and established the merits of [King] Wu”; that is, in establishing the Han dynasty, he balanced the virtues of the two founders of the Zhou.
33. The “Pool of Xian” (Xianchi 
) is the name of a constellation and of a classical musical composition. See 11.2 and 11.9.
34. The flight of the grand astrologers from these failing dynasties was the first sign of their imminent collapse. The stories of Zhong Gu 
and Xiang Yi 
(called Xiang Zhi in that text) are related in Lüshi chunqiu 16.1.
35. Tian Dan 
was a general of Qi during the reign of King Min. When Qi was overrun by the army of Yue Yi in 284 B.C.E., Tian Dan successfully defended the city of Jimo, the last piece of Qi territory to resist the invaders’ onslaught.
36. Odes 241, verse 1.
37. According to tradition, there were many more texts from previous dynasties than those anthologized into the extant Documents. The cited passage is presumably from one of the excised and subsequently lost Documents of Zhou.
38. This figure appears in Analects 13.18, in which the Duke of She boasts of him to Confucius. Confucius replies that where he comes from, those deemed “straight” cover up for their kin rather than informing on them.
39. Wei Sheng 
refused to leave the spot of their appointed rendezvous, even though the water in the river was rising, and eventually drowned. See also 16.100 and 17.242.
40. Jiao ming 
; that is, when they act as if orders have been issued when in fact none have been. “Three Armies” is a conventional term for the armed forces of a state.
41. A longer version of this story appears in 12.40 and another in 18.12. See also LSCQ 16.4/93/20– 16.4/94/11; and Zuozhuan, Xi 33. The merchant pretended to be an official ambassador from the court of Zheng, sent to greet the Qin troops. The Qin army, believing that the element of surprise had been lost, then abandoned its campaign.
42. King Gong of Chu 
reigned from 590 to 560 B.C.E.
43. Duke Li of Jin 
reigned from 580 to 573 B.C.E.
44. The actual name of the historic battle site was Yanling 
. It is rendered as “Yin” 
in the Huainanzi because the two characters were homophones in the Han. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1407n.13.
45. Lü Qi 
was a knight of Jin.
46. This line is currently not in the extant text but is contained in the Gao You commentary. Most modern scholars agree it has been mistakenly moved from the text into the commentary and should be replaced here. See Lau, HNZ, 125n.5; and Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1404n.14.
47. The battle of Yanling took place in 575 B.C.E. It is recounted in Zuozhuan, Cheng 16. The Zuo ’s account does not contain the episode of King Gong’s capture, though it does report that he was shot in the eye by Lü Qi. Shen Wang, Yang Youji, and the others all were grandees of Chu.
48. Cang Wurao 
, according to Gao You, was a man who lived at the time of Confucius. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1404n.17.
49. Analects 9.30.
50. Su Qin 
(d. 284 B.C.E.) was a statesman, wandering persuader, and diplomat who figures in many colorful stories from the Warring States period. A native of Zhou, he reportedly rose to hold the prime minister’s seal of six states simultaneously, which he wielded in a failed attempt to forge an anti-Qin alliance. He was ultimately caught spying on behalf of Yan in the state of Qi and met his grisly end. His biography is recorded in Shiji 69.
51. King Yan of Xu 
was a semilegendary figure variously identified in early sources. The Shiji has him as the leader of a non-Chinese people in south-central China who rose in rebellion against King Mu of Zhou. The Hanfeizi has him as the leader of a Chinese vassal state during the Spring and Autumn period.
52. According to Hanfeizi 49, King Wen of Chu (r. 689–676 B.C.E.) destroyed Xu out of fear of King Yan’s growing power.
53. Grand Minister Zhong 
(also known as Wen 
Zhong) was a native of Chu who devised a plan on behalf of King Goujian of Yue (then held captive in Wu), explaining how he might avert the destruction of his state by bribing the prime minister of Wu. After Goujian was restored to his own throne, he was persuaded by slander to order Zhong to commit suicide.
54. Shu Lou 
is the name of a treasured sword. The Huainanzi presumably means that Goujian presented Zhong with this sword, with which to commit suicide. Both the Shiji and the Hanfeizi report that this sword was presented by King Fuchai of Yue to his minister Zixu for the purpose of committing suicide. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1416n.8.
55. Caozi 
(also known as Cao Mo 
) was a general of Lu during the reign of Duke Zhuang (r. 693–622 B.C.E.). His biography is included among those of the “assassin retainers” in Shiji 86, and a text bearing his name was recently discovered among a group of bamboo manuscripts looted from a tomb of ancient Chu.
56. The meeting at Ke occurred in 681 B.C.E. It is recorded in the Zuozhuan, Zhuang 13, although no mention is made in that text of the dramatic events involving Cao Mo. Many other early texts inscribe this story, however. See, for example, Lüshi chunqiu 19.7; and Guanzi 18.
57. Prince Jiu 
(d. 685) was the older brother of Duke Huan of Qi and a potential heir to the ducal throne of that state. When their older brother Duke Xiang died, Prince Jiu and Duke Huan fought over who would succeed him. Prince Jiu ultimately lost, dying as a prisoner in Lu.
58. Guan Zhong originally served Prince Jiu. Upon the prince’s death, Guan accepted service as prime minister of Qi under Duke Huan. See Guanzi 18, 19; and Zuozhuan, Zhuang 8.
59. The same vivid image occurs in Sanskrit in the word gospada. See Zhu Qingshi, Some Linguistic Evidence for Early Cultural Exchange Between China and India, Sino-Platonic Papers, no. 66 (Philadelphia: Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania, 1995), 3–5.
60. Variants of this proverb appear in 2.10 and 9.11.
61. Yan Zhuoju 
was an intriguing figure mentioned in many early texts about whom little concretely is known. He is said to have studied with Confucius and to have assisted Tian Chang in his rise to power in the state of Qi.
62. Duangan Mu 
was a celebrated recluse. See 19.3.
63. Meng Mao 
(also known as Mang 
Mao) served as minister of education under King Zhao of Wei (r. 295–277 B.C.E.). Zhanguoce 309 records his meritorious service to Wei. See Crump, Chan-kuo Ts’e, 390–91.
64. Jing Yang 
was a general of Chu. In 275 B.C.E., he led an expedition to lift the siege of Handan by the armies of Qin. Zhanguoce 212 records a clever stratagem with which he caused the armies of Yan and Qi to withdraw without giving battle. See Crump, Chan-kuo Ts’e, 261–62. This may be what the Huainanzi means by “awed the Lords of the Land.”
65. This passage, which continues chap. 13’s emphasis on quan 
, “balance” or “equilibrium,” recalls Gongyang zhuan, Duke Huan 11.4, where it states, “one eventually achieves goodness, although at an initial stage one has acted contrary to constant standards.”
66. This is Gongxi Ai 
(courtesy title Ji’ai 
or Jici 
), a disciple of Confucius. Shiji 67:2209 records Confucius’s praise of Gongxi Ai as the only one of his disciples who refused on principle to serve in government.
67. Chen Zhongzi 
was a recluse knight of Qi during the fourth century B.C.E., famous for absolutely refusing to sully himself with the vulgar concerns of politics or commerce. He is the subject of a long anecdote in Mencius 3B.10.
68. Changes, hexagram 62, Xiaoguo 
.
69. Various lists of the “Five Hegemons” are recorded in early texts. Gao You identifies them as Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Wen of Jin, Duke Xiang of Song (r. 650–637 B.C.E.), King Zhuang of Chu, and Duke Mu of Qin (Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1429n.18). Other lists include King Helu of Wu (r. 514–496 B.C.E.) and King Goujian of Yue rather than the former rulers of Song and Qin.
70. Lau renders this phrase 
, but Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1424, reads 
, an alternative label for the “Five Hegemons” indicated earlier in the text by the phrase 
. As the Gao You commentary to this line indicates, the Five Hegemons are clearly the subject.
71. This reflects the ambivalent normative position of the Five Hegemons in early literature. Although they were praised as dynamic leaders, they also were denigrated as expedient operators who usurped the legitimate authority of the Zhou kings. See app. A.
72. A famous jade ritual object that was part of the ducal regalia of the state of Lu. See 7.6, 16.90, and 17.2.
73. All these are medicinal herbs indigenous to East Asia. According to Gao You, the members of each pair look alike but have different scents. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1436–37n.7.
74. Qi Dun 
, a poor knight of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period, became wealthy raising cattle and sheep. He was renowned as the world’s greatest connoisseur of jade.
75. The identity of this figure is unclear. A displaced scion of the ducal house of Wu bore the name Zhuyong 
, but he defected to Chu and was enfeoffed at Shu. See Shiji 31. A knight of Qi named Zhuyong Zhiyue 
is mentioned in Zuozhuan, Ai 23. Xue ultimately became a vassalage of Qi, but at that time it was still an independent state. Thus the Zhuyongzi of the Huainanzi may be a different person entirely.
76. Accepting Yu Yue’s proposed emendation. See Lau, HNZ, 128n.5.
77. Yu Er 
was a renowned gourmet of ancient times. Zhuangzi 8 calls him Yu 
Er. Xu Shen identifies him as having lived during the time of the Yellow Emperor. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1439n.14.
78. Lüshi chunqiu 19.2 reports that Duke Jing of Qi offered this fief to Confucius during an audience, but Confucius declined because the duke had rewarded him before putting any of his advice into practice.
79. Gao He 
was a knight in the retinue of Viscount Xiang, identified in the Lüshi chunqiu as Gao She 
.
80. This anecdote also appears in 18.10, Lüshi chunqiu 14.4, and Hanfeizi, chap. 36, “Refutations, Part 1” (nan yi 
). See HFZ 36/115/9–20. Hanfeizi takes this as an example of not rewarding officials correctly. See the introduction to chap. 19, where we translate the Hanfeizi version.
81. An abbreviated version of this story appears in 20.9 with a somewhat different moral. See also the version in Lüshi chunqiu 5, in which Duke Mu explains to the rustics that if they eat the meat of a piebald horse without taking a drink of liquor afterward, it will be dangerous to their health. See Knoblock and Riegel 2000, 202–3.
82. Yang Shuda and Yu Dacheng propose emendations to this section of text based on Guo yu and Guanzi parallels. See Lau, HNZ, 129n.2; and Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1445n.15.
83. Parallels to this anecdote appear in Guanzi 19 and 20 and in Guo yu 6.
84. Vice-Director Mao 
(d. 496 B.C.E.) was a grandee of Lu who, according to Shiji 47:1917, had “disordered” the government of Lu. Confucius executed Vice-Director Mao, even though he was quite popular, because he combined all five types of wicked character singled out by the ancient sage-kings for extirpation.
85. This anecdote is recorded in Xunzi 28, Shuo yuan 15, and Yantie lun 58.
86. Deng Xi 
(ca. 545–501 B.C.E.) was a legal reformer and logician of Zheng. A text bearing his name is extant but is generally thought to be a later forgery.
87. Zichan’s execution of Deng Xi is recounted in Lüshi chunqiu 18.4.
88. According to the “Seasonal Rules,” autumn is the season for carrying out punishments. See chap. 5.
89. A hu is a large storage vessel; a zhi is a small drinking cup.
90. A Han “foot” (chi 
) was about nine inches long, so a person “seven feet tall” in Han measure would have been about five feet, three inches, in modern terms.
91. This anecdote is recounted in 12.49 and 18.25.
92. The grammar here suggests a translation of jingshen as “essence and spirit,” in parallel with “mind and will,” rather than as the usual “Quintessential Spirit.”
93. All these are fabulous creatures of uncertain description. The Xiaoyang 
is a bird, sometimes said to be emblematic of a perfected human being; the Wangxiang 
is a water monster of some kind; the Bifang 
is another magical bird, with gorgeous plumage, said to be responsible for forest fires; and the Fenyang 
is an earth deity in the shape of a sheep that has neither male nor female characteristics.
94. Compare this usage of du 
, “unique,” with the sage’s “ear that uniquely hears, discernment that uniquely sees” near the end of 13.5, and “things that the sage uniquely sees” near the beginning of 13.13.
95. This line apparently refers to the making of actual physical statues, sculptures, and funerary goods, such as the taotie 
, “glutton mask,” and the bixie 
, “tomb-guardian monster,” metamorphic images that embody common people’s beliefs in monsters and prodigies. They draw on “expanded forms” (there are real four-footed animals, so why not bixie?) and “extended categories” (there are ravenous beasts, so why not taotie?).
96. The point here is that the foolish need some reason to believe that an accidental injury incurred during a fencing match was not inflicted intentionally, so this “folk saying” (in fact a clever piece of propaganda by the sages) provides a convenient pretext to explain why such mishaps occur: the Grand Ancestor “bumped the elbow” of the fencer who inflicted the accidental injury.
97. The description of Mount Tai’s clouds is quoted from the Gongyang zhuan, Duke Xi 31.
98. Yan Di was a fire god who warred with the Yellow Emperor. See 15.1. In 3.6, he is depicted as the god of the south and the planet Mars.
99. 
(lit., “those for whom he had exercised his Potency”). In other words, all those who had benefited from his efforts as a vigilante rallied to defend him from the bandits.
100. Accepting Yu Dacheng’s proposed emendation. See Lau, HNZ, 131n.2.