“A MONG OTHERS” explores the vagaries of human affairs and the paradoxical impulses that constantly change the patterns of human society. This chapter is essentially an extended exercise in persuasive prose, using symmetrically arranged anecdotes to demonstrate that radically divergent principles and forces direct events from situation to situation and from moment to moment. The overarching theme of the chapter is that only a sage can hope to navigate the turbid waters of human politics and social intercourse.
The Chapter Title
Chapter 18 of the Huainanzi shares its title—“Ren jian” 
—with chapter 4 of the Zhuangzi, and although stylistically they differ, the two texts are thematically quite close. The title of chapter 18 shows the elasticity of classical Chinese syntax; that is, the part of speech of each of the characters in the title can have multiple variant readings. For example, ren means “person” or “human being” but also “humanity” in general or “human” as a quality. Jian usually is a preposition meaning “between” or “among/amid,” but it can also be used as a noun meaning “realm” or “domain.” The chapter title thus could also be translated as “Among Human Beings” or “The Human Realm.”1
Also of significance to chapter 18 is its place in the overall structure of the Huainanzi. Whereas earlier chapters of the text move sequentially through the cosmogonic processes and energies at the root of all existence and the interior spaces of the human psyche, “Among Others” and the other later chapters articulate the gross dimensions of the phenomenal world. Thus one of the common nominal meanings of ren is germane to the thematic valence of the chapter’s title. In classical literature, ren could be the antonym of ji 
, “self,” thus generating the meaning of “other people.” As the introductory section of chapter 18 explains, here we have left the internal domain of the mind and nature and entered the multidimensional world of time and space populated by ren, “other people” or, simply, “others.” For this reason, we translate the title of chapter 18 as “Among Others.”
Summary and Key Themes
Even though most of “Among Others” is composed of the same discrete prose units that constitute both earlier texts like the Lüshi chunqiu and later anthologies like the Shuo yuan, in structure it resembles the former text much more than the latter. The anecdotes compiled in chapter 18 are not grouped into topics, as they are in the Shuo yuan. Rather, as in the Lüshi chunqiu (albeit in an even more deliberate and stylized manner than that text evinces),2 the anecdotes in chapter 18 are set in a formal matrix framed by linking segments of parallel prose and verse. Viewed as a whole, the chapter is designed to follow (or establish) the conventions of a particular prose genre.
The sections into which this translation is divided correspond to the formal, generic segments into which the chapter as a whole naturally breaks (with the exception of the first segment, which serves as a thematic introduction). Each of the twenty-six segments following the first exhibits the same basic structural properties, with some slight degree of deviation overall. The structure of each segment has the following outline (the examples here are from 18.2):
Proem: A short introductory passage, often in verse or parallel prose, which establishes the topic of the segment.
The world has three perils:
To have little Potency but [enjoy] much favor is the first peril.
To have lower talent and high position is the second peril.
For one’s person to be without great merit and yet to receive rich emolument is the third peril.
Motif: A symmetrically counterpoised pair of aphorisms, usually outlining a contradiction or paradox and delivered as the linked “legs” of a parallel prose dyad.3
Thus, as for things,
some are increased by being decreased;
some are decreased by being increased.
First example: A modular prose anecdote that illustrates the first leg of the motif. This often opens with the formulaic segue “How do we know that this is so?” and is concluded by the formula “This is what is called X.” Section 18.2 relates an anecdote about Sunshu Ao safeguarding his descendants by requesting a poor fief from his king.
Second example: A modular prose anecdote that illustrates the second leg of the motif. This often opens with the formulaic segue “What is called X?” and concludes with the formula “This is what is called X.” Section 18.2 here has an anecdote about how Duke Li of Jin was destroyed because he overextended his power through conquest.
Envoy: A closing statement, sometimes delivering a “moral” to be derived from the motif, usually in verse or parallel prose.
When Confucius read the Changes, on arriving at [the hexagrams] “Loss” [
] and “Gain” [
],4 he never failed to sigh loudly, saying, “Gain and loss, are these not the affairs of a king?”5
Whether this structural arrangement invokes a prose genre that would have been recognizable to a literarily educated Han audience is an open question. Existing testimony of generic prose forms during the Han is sparse, and examples of many of the attested genre forms are lacking. One attested genre that could be compared with the prose composition of “Among Others” is that of lianzhu, or “Linked Pearls.” Shen Yue (441–512) attributes the origins of this genre to Yang Xiong (53–18 B.C.E.);6 thus it is of somewhat later provenance than the Huainanzi. No Han examples of the genre survive, but one piece by the Western Jin author Lu Ji (261–303), “Linked Pearls Elaborated to Fifty Stanzas,” is anthologized into the imperially sponsored Literary Selections of the Liang-dynasty court. Each stanza in that composition is constructed from a pair of symmetrically counterpoised aphorisms parallel to the typical motif of each section of “Among Others.” One stanza reads:
I have heard,
though accumulated substance may be subtle,
it will certainly move objects.
Though exalted vacuity may be expansive,
it will not shift hearts.
Thus,
a capital denizen of charming mien
will take no delight in the shadow of Xi Shi.
A carriage horse that is running in circles
will not be stopped by the shade of Mount Tai. (Wen xuan 55)7
Although much more laconic, the parallels between this generic form and the compositional structure of “Among Others” are clear.8 Whether “Among Others” is a generic antecedent of the “Linked Pearls” form cannot be determined, but both texts illustrate common aesthetic preferences of literary artisanship. In this sense, whether the formal structure of chapter 18 was a conventional or recognizable genre of the Former Han or a novel invention of Liu An and his collaborators is moot. In either case, there is good evidence to suggest that the Huainanzi’s authors would have expected “Among Others” to be perceived as a virtuosic performance of literary composition. Any cursory survey of the surviving works of the Han and later eras demonstrates the building enthusiasm for symmetrical construction and parallelism in all fields of literary production.9 Accordingly, at the very least the authors of “Among Others” would have congratulated themselves for showing how the modular anecdotes that had become so important to the philosophical and rhetorical prose of the Warring States and Han could be worked into a structure with the elegance and aesthetic refinement increasingly attributed to symmetrical and parallel literary forms.
Moreover, whether the formal structure of “Among Others” was received or invented, it was perfectly suited to the thematic valence of the chapter. As the introductory section of chapter 18 declares:
The arrival of calamity is generated by human beings [
];
the arrival of good fortune is effected by human beings.
Calamity and good fortune share a gateway;
benefit and harm are neighbors.
No one who is not a spirit or sage can distinguish them.
This passage plays self-consciously with the multiple significances of ren. The first line reads simultaneously as “the arrival of calamity is generated by human beings” and “the arrival of calamity is generated by others.” When an individual ventures into the realm of time and space inhabited by other people, he will encounter among them both benefit and harm, and both are engendered in identical contexts and by identical means. Demonstrating this is the object of juxtaposing anecdotes throughout the chapter that operate at cross-purposes to each other.
The conclusion to chapter 18 is thus encapsulated in the final line just quoted, that one must be a spirit or a sage to distinguish whether others are bringing harm or benefit from instance to instance and moment to moment. Here, again, the ambiguity of ren as human beings or other people is significant. The resource that empowers us to discriminate between benefit and harm—the spirit that when actualized through personal cultivation transforms the individual into a sage —does not lie with others but within ourselves. Simultaneously, actualizing the spirit raises the practitioner to a plateau that transcends the human realm. As Michael Puett notes in To Become a God,10 by using the character shen (spirit) to describe the realized adept, texts like the Huainanzi claim for such individuals, literally and audaciously, the acquisition of superhuman qualities like those of the deities of the ancestral cult. This is the rhetorical stance underpinning all the literary gymnastics of chapter 18: conditions, “among others,” are such that only a person who has transcended them through the forms of personal cultivation advocated earlier in the Huainanzi can even hope to survive them, much less exercise any significant leadership over them.
Sources
“Among Others” is closely related to another chapter of the Huainanzi that likewise is a composite of short, modular units of anecdotal prose: chapter 12, “Responses of the Way.” The bulk of chapter 18 is composed of the same type of short prose anecdotes11 that also make up chapter 12, although these two chapters use the anecdotes for quite different ends. Included among these modular units are many that seem to have been taken verbatim from the Lüshi chunqiu, the Hanfeizi, the Zhuangzi, the Zhanguoce, and the Liezi, to name only a few; some appear again a century later in Liu Xiang’s Shuo yuan. The transfer of these prose units from text to text leads to the question of which texts constitute the definitive “sources” of “Among Others.” Many anecdotes appear in more than one other text besides the Huainanzi, and even for those that do not (or for which the Huainanzi stands as the current locus classicus), we cannot be certain of their original source. An anecdote that appears only in the Hanfeizi and the Huainanzi may have entered the latter text from the former, but it just as easily may have been circulating in another now-lost text or as a unit of “loose prose” in either written or oral form.12 As our fund of archaeologically recovered manuscripts has increased, we have learned more about the material media in which various forms of writing were produced and circulated. Nevertheless, we still do not know enough about the pathways of textual transmission during the Han era to describe confidently the process by which the textual components of “Among Others” were collected and compiled.
The Chapter in the Context of the Huainanzi as a Whole
“Among Others” is a late chapter in the Huainanzi, and as such it is structurally relegated to a position in the text that is emblematic of “branch” concerns. Chapter 18 forcefully and elegantly describes the paradoxical nature of human affairs and reinforces the importance of personal cultivation and transcendence to political leadership. Neither of these accomplishments is enough, however, to account for its inclusion in the text as a whole. To understand the role of chapter 18, therefore, we must appreciate both the efforts by Liu An and his collaborators to establish their credentials as literary stylists and connoisseurs and their motives for doing so. The Huainanzi was written for an audience of intellectuals13 who increasingly defined themselves as producers and consumers of texts, in a milieu in which literary skill was highly prized. If the Huainanzi’s novel vision of universal empire failed to identify a place for literary artistry and refinement, its authors could not have hoped for an enthusiastic reception. The Huainanzi’s veneration of ideas like those of the Daodejing (“those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know”) left its authors open to the charge of endorsing literary primitivism or Philistinism. In other words, the authors of the Huainanzi would have been sensitive to the possibility that their political opponents might charge that they had taken a stand against literary elegance and refinement as a criterion for state employment and promotion. In “Among Others” (and in many other of the later chapters), the authors of the Huainanzi reassure their readers that the intrinsic values of their vision do not denigrate or preclude literary artisanship and aesthetic engagement.
There is one other context in which the place of chapter 18 must be understood. “Among Others” is one of a sequence of chapters beginning with “A Mountain of Persuasions” (chapter 16) and continuing through “Cultivating Effort” (chapter 19) that deal with aspects of oral argumentation as a court activity. The symmetrical structure of chapter 18 makes it a compendium of exemplars of the art of debate itself and an illustration of how anecdotes may be deployed in oral argumentation. Beyond this, by demonstrating that anecdotes can be found to support, with apparently equal validity, both the “pro” and “con” sides of any argument, “Among Others” implicitly declares that although debate may be a versatile instrument of court policy, it can never serve as the ultimate arbiter of truth. Skilled debate may effectively lay out the merits of contrasting policy positions, but a ruler not fully realized in the Way will not be able to discern the future trajectories of good or ill fortune prefigured by either side of such a contest.14
Andrew Meyer
1. Le Blanc and Mathieu 2003 translate the title as “Du monde des hommes.”
2. In the Lüshi chunqiu, anecdotes are generally grouped together and linked so that all anecdotes in an essay support its central thesis.
3. A significant structural variant is 18.27, whose motif has four rather than two legs, thus altering the section’s subsequent structure.
4. Changes, hexagrams 41, Sun, and 42, Yi, respectively.
5. The conclusion of 18.2 contains more material that I have omitted, as this short section is more typical of a common envoy.
6. Ouyang Xun, Yiwen leiju (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1965), 57.1039.
7. Xiao Tong, Wen xuan (Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 1994), 2387.
8. The paradoxical juxtaposition of “accumulated substance” and “exalted vacuity” mirrors the common construction of a typical motif in chap. 18, although the subsequent lines provide examples only of “exalted vacuity.”
9. “Parallel prose” is generally considered a hallmark of the Six Dynasties period, but its origins date to the Former Han. Already the fu of celebrated authors like Sima Xiangru (ca. 145–86 B.C.E.) relied heavily on parallelism for aesthetic effect, and the text of the Huainanzi itself is replete with parallel and symmetrical constructions. See Christopher Leigh Connelly, “Sao, Fu, Parallel Prose, and Related Genres,” in The Columbia History of Chinese Literature, ed. Victor H. Mair (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001), 223–47; and Andrew H. Plaks, “Where the Lines Meet: Parallelism in Chinese and Western Literatures,” Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR) 10, nos. 1–2 (1988): 43–60.
10. Michael J. Puett, To Become a God: Cosmology, Sacrifice, and Self-Divinization in Early China (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Asia Center, 2002), 3–4.
11. For a discussion of the anecdote and its historical usage in Warring States and Han prose composition, see the introduction to chap. 12.
12. For a discussion of some of these issues, see David Schaberg, A Patterned Past: Form and Thought in Early Chinese Historiography (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University East Asia Center, 2002); and William G. Boltz, “The Composite Nature of Early Chinese Texts,” in Text and Ritual in Early China, ed. Martin Kern (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2005), 50–78.
13. The text was certainly intended to reach a wide intellectual audience even if, as suggested elsewhere, its “ideal reader” was a young monarch or emperor-in-training.
14. David Schaberg noted the relationship between “Among Others” and the issue of oral argumentation in “Oratorical Training in the Huainanzi ” (paper presented at the conference “Liu An’s Vision of Empire: New Perspectives on the Huainanzi,” Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., May 31, 2008).
The nature of humans is pure, clear, peaceful, and content.
The regulators of affairs are models, gnomons, the compass, and the square.
If you understand the nature of humans, you will not err in nurturing yourself.
If you understand the regulators of affairs, you will not be confused in your taking and giving.1 [18/185/20–21]
When one end emerges,
it comprehends limitlessly.
Roaming the eight limits,
it gathers it all into a single straw.
It is called “the mind.”
Looking at the root and knowing the branches, observing the finger and seeing the return [path], holding to the One and responding to the many, grasping the essentials and ordering the details. These are called “techniques.” [18/185/23–24]
What the wise are at rest, where the wise go in motion, what the wise wield in affairs, that from which the wise act: this is known as “the Way.”
The Way:
Place it in front, and [the cart] will not lean forward;
place it behind, and [the cart] will not lean backward.
Put in inside a cramped space, and it will not fill it,
Spread it over the world, and it will not be stretched.
For this reason,
what cause others to exalt and praise you are the strengths of the mind. [18/185/26–28]
What cause others to denigrate and slander you are the faults of the mind.
Words that issue from the mouth cannot be halted among others;
actions that are manifest nearby cannot be kept from afar.
Affairs are difficult to complete and easily defeated;
reputation is difficult to establish and easily abandoned.
A thousand-li dike will breach because of a cricket or ant burrow;
a hundred-xun roof will burn because of a spark from a crack in the chimney.2
The Admonitions of Yao says, “Trembling and shaking, take heed day by day. People do not stumble over a mountain; they stumble over an anthill.”3 This is why those who look lightly on small harms and scorn minor affairs will have many regrets. Worrying about a calamity once it has arrived is like a sick person’s searching for a good doctor once he has already become critically ill. Even if [the doctor] has the skill of a Bian Que4 or a Yu Fu,5 [the patient] will still not live. [18/185/30–18/186/4]
The arrival of calamity is generated by human beings;
the arrival of good fortune is effected by human beings.
Calamity and good fortune share a gateway;
benefit and harm are neighbors.
No one who is not a spirit or sage can distinguish them. [18/186/6–7]
In all people’s undertaking of affairs, none dares set his plans before using his intelligence to reflect and assess. Some lead to benefit, others to harm; this is the difference between the stupid and the wise. Those who thought that they clearly knew the fulcrum of survival and extinction, the portal of calamity and good fortune, and who, having used it, become trapped in difficulty, cannot be counted. If whenever one knew what was right, one’s affair would succeed, there would be no unfinished ventures in the world. For this reason,
intelligence and reflection are the portals of calamity and good fortune;
motion and stillness are the fulcrums of benefit and harm.
The alterations and transformations of the hundred affairs, the order and chaos of the state and the household, wait [for them] to be effected. [For this reason, one who does not fall into difficulty succeeds.]6 Thus one cannot but take heed of them. [18/186/9–13]
The world has three perils:
To have little Potency but [enjoy] much favor is the first peril.
To have lower talent and high position is the second peril.
For one’s person to be without great merit and yet to receive rich emolument is the third peril.
Thus, as for things,
some are increased by being decreased;
some are decreased by being increased. [18/186/15–16]
How do we know this is so? In olden times, King Zhuang of Chu had just defeated Jin between the [Yellow] River and Yong.7 Returning, he offered Sunshu Ao a fief, but Sunshu Ao declined it. When [Sunshu Ao] was sick and about to die, he told his son, “When I have died, the king will certainly enfeoff you. You must decline the rich and fertile land and accept sandy and rocky land. Between Chu and Yue are the hills of Qin.8 Its land is lacking and its reputation is bad. The people of Wu9 and Yue both think it haunted.10 No one considers it of any benefit.” Sunshu Ao died, and the king indeed did offer his son rich and fertile land as a fief. His son declined it, requesting the hills of Qin. According to the customs of Chu, officials of merit received title and emolument in the second generation, [yet] Sunshu Ao alone survived.11 This is what is called “increasing it by reducing.”
What is called “reducing it by increasing?” In antiquity, Duke Li of Jin attacked Chu to the south, Qi to the east, Qin to the west, and Yan to the north. His soldiers marched the breadth of the world without being defeated; he awed the four directions into submission without [himself] surrendering. Thereupon he assembled the Lords of the Land at Jialing.12 His qi was replete, his will arrogant, [and] he tyrannized the myriad people. Within, he had no supporting ministers; without, he had no aid from the Lords of the Land. He slaughtered his great ministers; he drew close to manipulators and slanderers. The next year he went traveling to [the fief of] the Jiangli clan. Luan Shu and Zhonghang Yan seized and imprisoned him.13 None of the Lords of the Land would save him; none of the common people grieved for him. After three months he died. Now, victory in battle and conquest in assault [and making] one’s territory expansive and one’s name revered; these are what [everyone in] the world desires, yet [for Duke Li] they ended with his person dead and his state lost.14 This is what is called “reducing it by increasing.”
Sunshu Ao’s requesting the hills of Qin, a sandy and rocky territory, was why it was not vied for by successive generations. Duke Li of Jin’s assembling of the Lords of the Land at Jialing was why he died in [the fief of] the Jiangli clan. [18/186/18–18/187/3]
The mass of people all know to view benefit as benefit and illness as illness; only the sage understands that illness is benefit, benefit is illness. The trunk of a tree that is doubly solid will certainly be harmed; the family that digs up graves [to rob them] will certainly suffer disaster. These speak of great benefits that conversely become harm. Zhang Wu instructed Earl Zhi to wrest away the territory of Hann and Wei, and [Earl Zhi] was taken at Jinyang. Shenshu Shi instructed King Zhuang [of Chu] to enfeoff the descendants of the Chen clan, and [King Zhuang] became hegemon.15
When Confucius read the Changes, on arriving at [the hexagrams] “Loss” and “Gain,”16 he never failed to sigh loudly, saying, “Gain and loss, are these not the affairs of a king?” [18/187/5–8]
Actions:
Some are taken in order to benefit a person and ultimately only injure him;
some are taken in order to injure a person and conversely [only] benefit him.
The reversals of benefit and injury
are the portal of calamity and good fortune.
They cannot but be investigated. [18/187/8–9]
Yang Hu rebelled in Lu.17 The ruler of Lu ordered the people to bar the city gate and seize him. Anyone who apprehended him would be rewarded greatly; anyone who lost him would be heavily incriminated. Being encircled three times, Yang Hu was about to take up his sword and cut his own throat. One of the gatekeepers stopped him, saying, “I will let you out.” Yang Hu thus went to the encirclement and drove them back; raising his sword and lifting his spear, he ran. The gatekeeper let him out. Turning around, [Yang Hu] went back to the one who let him out, stabbing him with his spear, grabbing his sleeve, and hitting him in the armpit. The one who let him out [said] resentfully, “I had no reason to befriend you. For you, I have risked death and incurred incrimination, yet you turn and injure me. It is fitting that you should have this trouble!”
When the ruler of Lu heard that Yang Hu had escaped, he was greatly angry. He asked which gate [Yang Hu] had left through and ordered his officers to seize [its gatekeeper]. Thinking that if he were injured, it was because he fought and that if he were uninjured, it was because he had let [Yang Hu] go, [he ordered that] if he were injured, he would receive a great reward [and that] if he were not injured, he would be severely punished. This is what is called “injuring him and yet benefiting him.” [18/187/11–17]
What is called “wanting to benefit [a person] and yet injuring him?” King Gong of Chu and the people of Jin did battle at Yanling.18 When the fighting was fierce, King Gong was injured and withdrew. Commander Zifan19 was thirsty and asked for a drink; his page Yang Gu brought wine and gave it to him. Zifan was fond of wine, and when he tasted it, he could not stop drinking; thus he became drunk and lay down. King Gong wanted to resume battle and sent someone to summon Commander Zifan. Zifan excused himself on account of a heart malady. The king drove to see him; entering his tent, he smelled wine. King Gong, greatly angry, said, “In today’s battle I was personally wounded. The one I depended on was you, and yet you are like this. You abandon the altars of the soil and grain of Chu and have no concern for my people; I will not go into battle with you again!” Thereupon he halted the army and withdrew, beheading Zifan as punishment. Thus the page Yang Gu’s giving Zifan wine was not out of a desire to cause him calamity. He truly loved and wanted to please him, and ultimately it only killed him.20 This is called “wanting to benefit him and conversely injuring him.” [18/187/19–25]
“If they are sick with a fever, force them to eat,
If they are sick with chills, give them a cold drink.”
This is what the mass of people consider therapeutic, but a good physician considers them unhealthy.
What delights the eye,
what delights the mind,
these are what the foolish consider benefit but what those possessed of reason avoid.
Thus,
the sage first scrutinizes [something] and only later adopts [it];
the mass of people adopt [something] and only later scrutinize [it]. [18/187/27–18/188/2]
To possess merit is the duty of all ministers;
to be incriminated is what all ministers avoid.
[Yet] some who possess merit have fallen under suspicion;
some who commit crimes are trusted even more.
Why is this? It is because those who have merit were alienated from the Rightness of mercy; those who committed crimes did not dare lose their humane heart. [18/188/4–5]
The Wei general Yue Yang attacked Zhongshan.21 His son was held in the city, and those in the city hung up his son to show Yue Yang. Yue Yang said, “The Rightness of ruler and minister does not allow me to have selfish concern for my son.” He assaulted [the city] even more vigorously. Zhongshan then cooked his son, sending him a cauldron of soup containing his head. Yue Yang touched it and cried over it, saying, “This is my son.” He knelt before the emissary and drank three cups [of the soup]. The emissary returned and reported. [The ruler of] Zhongshan said, “This is one who is bound to the spot and will persist unto death; we cannot endure.” Thus he surrendered to him. [Yue Yang] had greatly expanded Marquis Wen of Wei’s territory; he possessed merit. [Yet] from this point on, he was daily less trusted.22 This is what is called “having merit and falling under suspicion.” [18/188/7–11]
What is called committing a crime yet being trusted even more? Meng Sun23 was hunting and caught a fawn. He ordered Qinxi Ba to take it back and cook it. The fawn’s mother followed him, crying. Qinxi Ba could not endure it, [so] he freed [the fawn] and gave it [to its mother]. Meng Sun returned and asked where the fawn was. Qinxi Ba replied: “Its mother followed and was crying. I truly could not endure it, so I let [the fawn] go and gave it [to its mother].” Meng Sun was angry and exiled Qinxi Ba. After one year, he took [Qinxi Ba] as his son’s teacher. Those around him said, “Qinxi Ba has transgressed against you, [yet] now you make him your son’s teacher, why?” Meng Sun said: “If he could not endure [the suffering] of a single fawn, how much less [will he endure] that of a human being?”24 This is what is called “committing a crime and yet being trusted even more.” [18/188/13–17]
Thus one cannot but be careful in one’s taking and relinquishing. This is why when Gongsun Yang25 incurred recrimination in Qin, he could not enter Wei. It was not that his merit was not great, yet his feet were bound and he had nothing upon which to tread.26 It was because he was unrighteous. [18/188/19–20]
Actions:
Some are [undertaken] to take something and conversely give it away;
some are [undertaken] to give something away and conversely accept it.
Earl Zhi demanded territory from Viscount Huan of Wei.27 Viscount Huan did not want to yield it. Ren Deng28 said, “Earl Zhi’s strength is such that he spreads awe throughout the world. If he demands territory and you do not grant it, this will be accepting calamity before the Lords of the Land. It would be better to grant it.” Viscount Huan said, “If he demands territory without end, what shall I do?” Ren Deng said, “Give it to him; make him pleased. He will certainly go on to demand territory from the Lords of the Land, and they will surely fall in line. When we join minds to make plans with the entire world, what we gain29 will not merely be what we have lost.” Viscount Huan of Wei detached territory and gave it to him. [Earl Zhi] then demanded territory from Viscount Kang of Hann. Viscount Kang of Hann did not dare fail to grant it. The Lords of the Land were all afraid. [Earl Zhi] further demanded territory from Viscount Xiang of Zhao;30 Viscount Xiang refused to grant it. At this Earl Zhi allied with Hann and Wei and besieged Viscount Xiang at Jinyang. The three states31 plotted together, seizing Earl Zhi and dividing his state into three.32 This is what is called “taking it and conversely giving it away.” [18/188/22–27]
What is called “giving it away and conversely taking it?” Duke Xian of Jin wanted to obtain free passage from [the state of] Yu in order to attack [the state of] Guo.33 He sent Yu a steed of Qu and the jade disk of Chuiji. The Duke of Yu was beguiled by the disk and the horse and wanted to grant free passage. Gong Zhiqi admonished him, saying, “You cannot. Yu and Guo are like the cart and its wheels.34 The wheels depend on the cart; the cart also depends on the wheels. Yu and Guo naturally depend on each other. If we give free passage, then Guo will perish in the morning and Yu will follow that night.” The Duke of Yu did not listen, thus giving [Jin] free passage. Xun Xi35 attacked Guo and defeated it. On his return he attacked Yu and took it too.36 This is what is known as “giving it and conversely taking it.” [18/189/1–6]
The sage king spreads his Potency and applies his compassion, never demanding recompense from the common people.
The various sacrifices37 are all performed, never requesting good fortune from the ghosts and spirits. [18/189/8]
Mountains reach their heights and clouds and rain arise there;
water reaches its depths and sea serpents and dragons are born there;
the gentleman achieves his Way, and good and fortune and emolument come to him.
Thus,
the Potency of yin will certainly meet the response of yang;
he who conducts himself [nobly] in obscurity will certainly have a resplendent name.
In antiquity there were no canals and dikes; floods harmed the people. Yu dug out Longmen and walled in Yinque. Leveling and ordering the water and soil, he gave the people dry land to inhabit.
The common people did not hold [one another] close;
the five grades [of relatedness]38 were not respected.
Qi taught them the Rightness of ruler and minister, the closeness of father and son, the distinction between husband and wife, the order of elder and younger.
The fields were left wild and not cultivated;
the people did not have enough to eat.
Lord Millet thus taught them how to break the earth and clear the plants, fertilize the soil, and plant the grain, [thereby] giving each household among the common people sufficiency.
After the Three Dynasties there was no [ruler] who was not “king”; theirs was the Potency of yin. The Zhou house declined; Ritual and Rightness were abandoned. Confucius instructed and guided the age with the Way of the Three Eras. His descendants have continued his line down to the present day without break; he conducted himself nobly in obscurity. The king of Qin, Zhao Zheng,39 annexed the world and perished. Earl Zhi conquered territory and was exterminated. Shang Yang was dismembered; Li Si40 was torn apart by chariots.41
The Three Eras cultivated their Potency and became kings;
Duke Huan revived broken [lineages] and became hegemon.
Thus,
the one who plants glutinous millet will not harvest pannicled millet;
the one who plants resentment will not be repaid with Moral Potency. [18/189/10–18]
In olden times, among the people of Song there was [a family] whose [members] were very close. The three generations42 did not separate. Without warning, the household’s black cow gave birth to a white calf. They asked the grandfather43 and he said, “This is a good omen. Offer it up to the ghosts and spirits.” After one year, the father suddenly went blind, and the cow again gave birth to a white calf. The father again sent his son to consult the grandfather. His son said, “Before we listened to grandfather and you lost your sight. If we consult him again now, what will happen?” His father said, “According to the words of the sages, one must first scrutinize and then adopt. The affair is not yet clear; we must still try asking him once more.” The son again went to consult the grandfather. The grandfather said, “This is a good omen. I again instruct you to offer it to the ghosts and spirits.” [The son] returned to convey these orders to his father. The father said, “Carry out grandfather’s instructions.” In one year, the son also suddenly went blind. Afterward Chu attacked Song, besieging the city. At this time, people traded their children for food; they cut up corpses and cooked them. The able and strong were dead; the old, sick, and children all had to mount the city walls. They defended them without failing. The king of Chu was furious. When the walls were breached, all those defending them were slaughtered. It was only because the father and son were blind that they did not mount the walls. When the army retired and the siege was lifted, both the father and son [regained] their vision. [18/189/20–27]
As for the revolutions and the mutual generation of calamity and good fortune, their alterations are difficult to perceive.44 At the near frontier, there was a [family of] skilled diviners whose horse suddenly became lost out among the Hu45 [people]. Everyone consoled them. The father said, “This will quickly turn to good fortune!” After several months, the horse returned with a fine Hu steed. Everyone congratulated them. The father said, “This will quickly turn to calamity!” The household was [now] replete with good horses; the son loved to ride, [but] he fell and broke his leg. Everyone consoled them. The father said, “This will quickly turn to good fortune!” After one year, the Hu people entered the frontier in force; the able and strong all stretched their bowstrings and fought. Among the people of the near frontier, nine out of ten died. It was only because of lameness that father and son protected each other. Thus,
good fortune becoming calamity,
calamity becoming good fortune;
their transformations are limitless,
so profound they cannot be fathomed. [18/189/27–18/190/6]
Some are correct in word yet not comprehensive in action; some are faulty of ear and stubborn of mind yet accord with substance.
Gaoyang Tui was about to build a house, [so] he consulted a carpenter. The carpenter replied, “It cannot be done yet. The wood is still living. If plaster is applied to it, it will definitely warp. When green material is covered with heavy plaster it may [seem] completed now, [but] it will definitely collapse later.” Gaoyang Tui said, “Not so. As the wood dries, it gets harder; as the plaster dries, it gets lighter. When hard material is covered with light plaster, even though it is bad now, it will certainly be better later.” The carpenter was out of words, he had no reply. He accepted his orders and built the house. When it was completed, it was apparently fine, but afterward it indeed collapsed.46 This is what is known as “correct in word yet not comprehensive in action.”
What is called faulty of ear [and] stubborn of mind yet according with substance? Lord Jingguo was about to fortify Xue.47 Most of his guest clients tried to stop him; he did not listen to them. He told his heralds, “Send no word from my guest clients.” A man of Qi requested an audience, saying, “I will speak only three words. If I surpass three words, please cook me [alive].” Lord Jingguo heard this and granted him an audience. The guest rushed forward, bowed twice, and rising, said, “Great sea fish,” then retreated. Lord Jingguo stopped him, staying, “I want to hear your persuasion.” The guest said, “I do not dare die for sport.” Lord Jingguo said, “You, honored sir, have paid no heed to distance in coming here, I want you to explain it to me.” The guest said, “The great sea fish: nets cannot stop it, hooks cannot catch it. [But] if it beaches and is out of the water, then crickets and ants will have their way with it. Now Qi is your sea. If you lose Qi, do you think that Xue can survive alone?” Lord Jingguo said, “Excellent” and thereby halted the fortification of Xue.48 This is what is called “being faulty of ear and stubborn of mind, yet attaining the substance in action.” [18/190/8–19]
Now using “do not fortify Xue” as a persuasion to halt the fortification of Xue was not as good as “great sea fish.”
Thus things
sometimes are distant yet near to it,
sometimes are near yet far off the mark. [18/190/21–22]
Some [persons’] persuasions are heeded and assessments are correct, yet they become estranged [from the ruler].
Some [persons’] words are not used and assessments are not effected, yet they draw closer. How do we illustrate this?
Three states attacked Qi,49 besieging Pinglu. Kuozi reported to Niuzi, saying, “The territory of the three states does not abut ours; they crossed neighboring states to besiege Pinglu. The profit in this is not worth coveting; thus they must have come to make a reputation from us. I request that we give them the marquis of Qi.” Niuzi thought this was correct. Kuozi left, and Wuhaizi entered.50 Niuzi related Kuozi’s words to Wuhaizi. Wuhaizi said, “This is different from what I heard.” Niuzi said, “The state is imperiled and cannot be secured; calamity ensnares us and cannot be escaped. What wisdom do you have to offer?” Wuhaizi said, “I have heard of ceding land to secure the altars of the soil and grain; I have heard of killing one’s person and destroying one’s household to preserve the state; I have never heard of giving away one’s ruler for the sake of one’s fief.” Niuzi did not listen to Wuhaizi’s words and carried out Kuozi’s plan. The armies of the three states retired, and the territory of Pinglu was preserved. From this time on, Kuozi was daily more estranged [from his lord], [but] Wuhaizi daily advanced [in rank]. Thus in strategizing for and resolving calamity, in planning for and preserving the state, Kuozi’s wisdom was effective. Wuhaizi’s thoughts did not lead to [the proper] plan; his strategies were of no benefit to the state, yet his mind harmonized with that of the ruler; he had the right conduct. [18/190/22–18/191/4]
Now people
await a hat to adorn their head.
await shoes to tread the ground.
Caps and shoes
do not keep people warm when it is cold,
do not shelter [them] from the wind,
do not shade [them] from the heat.
Nonetheless [people] wear caps and shoes because they have come to expect them. [18/191/6–7]
Jiu Fan conquered Chengpu, and [in the battle] Yong Ji did not earn an ounce of merit.51 Yet Yong Ji was the first to be rewarded, and Jiu Fan was considered afterward. This was because [Yong Ji]’s words were more noble. Thus Rightness is what the world considers noble.52 To speak correctly one hundred times in one hundred utterances is not as good as choosing one’s direction and being careful of one’s conduct.
Some are without merit and are promoted first;
some have merit and are rewarded last.
How do we illustrate this? In antiquity when Duke Wen of Jin was about to do battle with Chu at Chengpu, he consulted Jiu Fan, saying, “What should we do?” Jiu Fan said, “In matters of Humaneness and Rightness, one can never be loyal and trustworthy enough. In matters of the battle array, one can never be deceiving or artful enough. You should deceive them, that is all.” Duke Wen excused Jiu Fan and asked Yong Ji. Yong Ji replied, “If in hunting, you burned the woods, you would get more animals [that way], but afterward there would surely be no more animals [left]. If you engage others with deception and artifice, although you will increase your profit, afterward there will be no further [profit]. You should rectify them, that is all.” But [Duke Wen] did not listen to Yong Ji’s plan, and using Jiu Fan’s strategy he did battle with Chu, soundly defeating them. Upon returning home, when rewarding those who earned merit, Yong Ji was placed before Jiu Fan. Everyone said, “The battle at Chengpu [was conducted according to] Jiu Fan’s strategy; why did Your Majesty reward Yong Ji ahead [of others]?” Duke Wen said, “Jiu Fan’s words were the expediency of a single moment; Yong Ji’s words were the benefit of myriad generations. How could I place the expediency of the moment before the benefit of myriad generations!”53 [18/191/9–18]
Earl Zhi led the two states of Hann and Wei to attack Zhao. They besieged Jinyang, releasing the Jin River to flood it. Inside the city, people climbed trees to survive, suspended pots to cook. Viscount Xiang said to Zhang Mengtan,54 “The strength of [those] within the city is already exhausted, provisions are low, and most of the military officers are sick. What should we do?” Zhang Mengtan said, “What is lost cannot be preserved; what is imperiled cannot be secured. I have no valuable wisdom [to offer]. I request to attempt to go [out] in secret to treat with the lords of Hann and Wei.” He then saw the lords of Hann and Wei and persuaded them, saying, “I have heard, ‘If the lips are lost, the teeth become cold.’ Now Earl Zhi leads you two lords in attacking Zhao, and Zhao will be lost. Once Zhao is lost, you two lords will be next. If you do not plan for it now, calamity will overtake you two lords.” The two lords said, “Earl Zhi is a man who suspects those close to him and has few intimates. If our plan leaks out, the action will certainly fail. What is there to do?” Zhang Mengtan said, “The words have left your two lordships’ mouths and entered my ears, who will know of them? Moreover, those of common feeling succeed together; those with the same interests die together. Think about it!” The two lords then plotted with Zhang Mengtan and set a time with him. Zhang Mengtan reported back to Viscount Xiang, and on the evening of the appointed day the soldiers of the Zhao clan killed the officers guarding the dike, releasing the river to flood the army of Earl Zhi. While Earl Zhi’s army was thrown into chaos fighting the flood; Hann and Wei attacked them on the flanks, Viscount Xiang led his troops in a frontal assault. Earl Zhi’s army was greatly defeated; he was killed and his state was divided into three parts.55
When Viscount Xiang was rewarding those who had earned merit in lifting the siege, Gao He56 was the first to be given a reward. The assembled ministers all asked, “The survival of Jinyang was thanks to Zhang Mengtan’s merit; why has [Gao] He been rewarded first?” Viscount Xiang said, “During the siege of Jinyang, my state and household were imperiled, [and] my altars of soil and grain were threatened. None among the various ministers was without an arrogant and offensive mind-set. Only He did not abandon the propriety appropriate between ruler and minister. This is why I placed him first.”57 Viewed from this [perspective], Rightness is people’s great foundation. Although one might have the merit of victory in battle or preserving [the state] from extinction, this does not equal the splendor of practicing Rightness.
Thus the Laozi says:
“Beautiful words can buy one prestige;
beautiful deeds can advance one above others.”58 [18/191/20–18/192/6]
Some are incriminated yet may be rewarded;
some have merit yet may be incriminated.
[When] Ximen Bao administered Ye,59
no millet was gathered in the granaries;
no money was collected in the storehouses;
no armor or weapons were [stored] in the armory;
there were no planning meetings among the officials.
People spoke several times to Marquis Wen [of Wei] about [Ximen Bao]’s oversights. Marquis Wen went personally to the district, and indeed it was as people said. Marquis Wen said, “Di Huang60 appointed you to bring order to Ye, and it is greatly disordered. If you can lead, then do so. If you cannot, I will punish you.” Ximen Bao said, “I have heard that
‘a kingly ruler enriches the people;
a hegemonic ruler enriches the military;
a lost state enriches the storehouses.’
Now because you want to be hegemon or king, I have accumulated materials among the people. If you do not believe it is so, please let me mount the wall and beat the drum. Armor, weapons, millet, and grain can be immediately produced.” At this he mounted the wall and beat the drum. At the first drum roll, the people donned armor, grabbed arrows, and came out carrying weapons and bows. At the second drum roll, [the people] came pushing handcarts loaded with millet. Marquis Wen said, “Stand them down.” Ximen Bao said, “Entering this bond of trust with the people has not been the work of a single day. If [now] you muster them falsely [even] once, you will not be able to use them again. Yan has occupied eight of Wei’s cities.61 I ask permission to strike north and reclaim our occupied territory.” Thus he raised troops and attacked Yan, returning after reclaiming the territory. This is [an example of] “being incriminated yet worthy of reward.”
Xie Bian62 was administering the eastern fief and turned in three times what his superiors had assessed [as his revenue]. The court officers asked that he be rewarded. Marquis Wen said, “My territory has gotten no bigger; my people have not grown more numerous. How has he tripled revenue?” They replied, “In winter he cuts wood and collects it; in spring he floats it downriver to be sold.” Marquis Wen said, “The people use their effort in the spring to plow; they use their strength in the summer to plant; in the autumn they harvest. To make them also cut and store wood [and] carry and ship logs during the winter [when] they have no tasks is to refuse the people rest. If the people are exhausted, what use will even triple revenue be to me?” This is “to have merit and yet be [worthy] of incrimination.” [18/192/8–20]
A worthy ruler does not attain [anything] ignobly;
a loyal minister does not profit ignobly.
How do we illustrate this?
Earl Mu of Zhonghang assaulted Gu but could not capture it.63 Kui Wenlun64 said, “I know the sheriff of Gu. I ask that you not withdraw the military officers; if so, Gu can be taken.” Earl Mu did not agree. His subordinates said, “If Gu can be taken without breaking a single halberd or having a single soldier wounded, why will you not send him?” Earl Mu said, “Wenlun is a devious and inhumane sort of person. If I send Wenlun to capture [Gu], can I fail to reward him? If I reward him, this would be rewarding a devious person. If a devious person achieves his ambition, this would cause the warriors of the state of Jin to abandon Humaneness and take up deviousness. Even if I took Gu, what use would it be!” [Earl Mu] assaulted the city out of a desire to expand his territory. He did not take the territory when [he could] acquire it because he looked at the roots and knew the branches. [18/192/22–27]
Duke Mu of Qin sent Meng Meng65 to raise troops and launch a surprise attack on Zheng.66 As he passed Zhou while moving east, two merchants of Zheng, Xian Gao and Jian Tuo,67 plotted together, saying, “The army has traveled several thousand li, avoiding the territory of several Lords of the Land. It must be heading to attack Zheng. Whoever launches a surprise attack against a state assumes that [the target] is unprepared. If now we create the appearance that [Zheng] knows their dispositions, they will not dare advance.” Then, falsifying orders from the earl of Zheng, they made a gift [to the Qin army] of twelve head of cattle. The three commanders [of the Qin army] conferred together, saying, “When one launches a surprise attack, [the target] must not be aware. Now that they already know about it, their defenses will certainly be strengthened. If we carry on, we definitely will not succeed.” Thus they turned the army and headed back. Xian Zhen of Jin raised troops and attacked them, defeating them badly at Yao.68
The earl of Zheng thus offered a reward to Xian Gao for meritorious service in having preserved the state. Xian Gao declined it, saying, “If I were to receive a reward after having lied, this would destroy the credibility of the state of Zheng. To rule a state without credibility would ruin its customs. To ruin the customs of the state by rewarding one person is not something a humane person would do. To attain rich rewards from being untrustworthy is not something a righteous person would do.” Then he took his dependents and moved out among the Eastern Yi, never returning to the end of his life.69
Thus,
a humane person does not harm life for the sake of desire;
a wise person does not harm Rightness for the sake of profit.
The sage thinks of the long term;
the fool thinks of the short term. [18/192/29–18/193/8]
A loyal minister works at exalting his ruler’s Potency;
a sycophantic minister works at expanding his ruler’s territory.
How do we illustrate this?
Xia Zhengshu70 of Chen murdered his ruler.71 King Zhuang of Chu attacked him; the people of Chen complied with [Chu’s] orders. When King Zhuang had already punished the criminal, he sent troops to garrison Chen. All the nobles congratulated him. At the time Shenshu Shi72 was on an embassy to Qi; when he returned, he did not congratulate [the king]. King Zhuang said, “Chen was without the Way. I raised the Nine Armies to punish them. I marched against a cruel rebel and punished a criminal; all the nobles congratulated me. You alone have not, why?” Shenshu Shi said, “[Suppose] a man leads an ox into someone else’s field. The owner of the field kills the man and takes the ox. A crime had indeed been committed, but the punishment was even worse. Now you feel that Chen is without the Way; you take up arms and rectify them. You punish the criminal and send troops to garrison Chen. When the Lords of the Land hear about it, they will not think that you did it to punish a criminal; [they will assume] that you coveted the state of Chen. I have heard that ‘the gentleman does not abandon Rightness to obtain profit.’” The king said, “Excellent!” He thus withdrew the garrison from Chen and established descendants of [the ruling house of] Chen [to rule once more]. When the Lords of the Land heard of it, they all paid court to Chu. This is [an example of] one who exalts his ruler’s Potency.
Zhang Wu73 plotted for Earl Zhi, saying, “Of Jin’s six commanders, Viscount Wen of Zhonghang74 is the weakest. He is estranged from his subordinates, [so] we may attack him to expand our territory.” At this they attacked Fan and Zhonghang. When these had been exterminated, [Zhang Wu] also instructed Earl Zhi to demand territory from Hann, Wei, and Zhao. Hann and Wei detached territory and ceded it, [but] the Zhao clan would not do so. Then [Earl Zhi] led Hann and Wei in attacking Zhao. They besieged Jinyang for three years. The three states plotted together and agreed on a plan to attack the Zhi clan, thus exterminating it.75 This is [an example of] one who expands his ruler’s territory.
He who exalted his ruler’s Potency [made him] hegemon;
he who expanded his ruler’s territory [caused him to be] exterminated.
Thus,
the states of one thousand chariots that became king through the exercise of civil Potency were those of Tang and Wu;
The state of ten thousand chariots lost through expanding its territory was that of Earl Zhi. [18/193/10–21]
Do not undertake affairs that are not your own;
do not assume a reputation that is not yours.
Do not abide in riches and honor if you are without merit.
One who assumes another’s reputation will be cast aside;
one who undertakes another’s affair will fail.
One who enjoys great profit without merit will ultimately come to harm.
Compare it to climbing a tall tree and gazing at the four directions. Although one may feel delighted and happy, if a strong wind were to come up, no one would fail to be afraid. If you worry about calamity only after it has reached your person, a team of six fast horses cannot [help you] catch up to it. For this reason, in serving his ruler a loyal minister
accepts reward only after calculating his merit; he obtains nothing profligately;
accepts office only after measuring his strength; he does not covet rank and emolument.
What he is able to do, he accepts without demur.
What he is incapable of, he declines without pleasure.
To decline what one is capable of is
to dissemble; to desire what one is incapable of is to deceive.
If he declines what he cannot do and accepts what he can, he will acquire an unflagging force and have no tasks at which he is unsuccessful. [18/193/23–28]
In ancient times, Earl Zhi was arrogant; having attacked and conquered Fan and Zhonghang, he further extorted territory from Hann and Wei. Still, he felt he did not have enough, so he took up arms to attack Zhao. Hann and Wei turned on him; his army was defeated before Jinyang. He was killed east of Gaoliang; his head was made into a drinking vessel. His state was divided into three parts; he was laughed at by the world. This is the calamity of not knowing contentment.
The Laozi says:
“Know contentment and you will [suffer] no disgrace;
know when to stop and you will not expire,
[thus] may you endure a long time.”76
This says it. [18/194/1–3]
Some praise others yet ultimately bring them to defeat;
some slander others yet conversely bring them success.
How do we know this is so?
Fei Wuji told King Ping of Jing,77 “Jin became hegemon by becoming close to all the Xia78 [states]. Jing cannot compete with them because we are so remote. If you want to gather the Lords of the Land into an alliance, nothing would serve as well as greatly fortifying Chengfu and ordering Crown Prince Jian to garrison it, so as to receive [the tribute] of the north. You would personally collect [the tribute] of the south.” The king of Chu liked this [idea]. He then ordered the crown prince to garrison Chengfu and commissioned Wu Zishe to assist him.79 After one year Wu Zishe traveled to the royal residence. He said that the crown prince was extremely humane and courageous; he had been able to win the hearts of the people. The king told this to Fei Wuji. Wuji said, “I have consistently heard that the crown prince is cultivating the common people internally and treating with the Lords of the Land externally. Qi and Jin are also assisting him; they are about to injure Chu. The action is already prepared.” The king said, “He is already my crown prince; what more does he demand?” [Fei Wuji] said, “He resents you for the affair of the Qin woman.”80 The king thus killed Crown Prince Jian and executed Wu Zishe.81 This is what is called “being praised yet experiencing calamity.” [18/194/5–11]
What is called “slandering someone, yet conversely benefiting him?”
Tangzi denigrated Chen Pianzi to King Wei of Qi.82 King Wei wanted to kill him; Chen Pianzi fled to Xue with his dependents. Lord Mengchang heard of this and sent men with a carriage to receive him. After he arrived [in Xue], five-flavored meals of grass- and grain- [fed meats], millet, and sorghum were sent to him three times daily. In winter he was clothed in fur and down; in summer he donned ramie and linen. When he traveled, he rode in a heavy carriage drawn by fine horses. Lord Mengchang asked him, “You, master, were born in Qi and grew up in Qi, is there anything about Qi that you think of?” He replied, “I think about Tangzi.” Lord Mengchang said, “Is not Tangzi the one who slandered you?” [Chen Pianzi] said, “He is.” Lord Mengchang said, “Why do you think about him?” He replied, “When I lived in Qi, I ate coarse grain for my staple; pigweed and bean sprouts for my main course. On winter days I froze; on summer days I sweltered. Since Tangzi slandered me, and I came to you, I dine on grass- and grain- [fed animals]; I eat millet and sorghum for my staple; I wear light and warm clothes; I ride in a heavy carriage. This is why I think of him.” This is called “slandering someone yet conversely benefiting them.” For this reason, one cannot be too careful of slander and praise. [18/194/13–20]
Some covet life yet conversely die;
some scorn death yet manage to live;
some go slowly yet conversely hurry.
How do we know this is so?
Among the people of Lu, there was a man who avenged his father in Qi. Having split open his [enemy’s] abdomen and exposed his heart, he sat and straightened his cap, rose, and readjusted his robe. Walking slowly out the door, he mounted his carriage and walked the horses; his countenance did not alter. His driver wanted to gallop; he grabbed [his driver] and stopped him, saying, “Today I set out to avenge my father intent on death. Now the deed is already done, what reason is there to leave?” Those pursuing him said, “This is a man of discipline; we cannot kill him.” They opened their cordon and let him go. If he had not taken the time to belt his robe or adjust his cap; if he had crawled out, mounted his carriage, and sped off; he would not have survived to go ten paces.
Now,
sitting and straightening his cap,
rising and readjusting his robe,
walking slowly out the door,
mounting his carriage, and walking the horses,
his countenance never altering is what the mass of people would think leads to death. Yet, in fact, it conversely gained him life. This is what is known as “running83 at the gallop is slower than walking.”
Running is what people deem fast;
walking is what people deem slow.
In this case, [he] conversely used what people deem slow to go fast; [he] was clear as to the distinction. One who understands the speed of slowness and the slowness of speed is near the Way.
When the Yellow Emperor lost his Dark Pearl, he sent Grieving for Pearl and Grabbing-Grasping to search for it. Yet they could not get it; so he sent Forget Sorrow and only then got it back.84 [18/194/22–18/195/3]
The sage respects the small and is cautious of the subtle; in action he does not lose a moment. He [makes] one hundred preparations and [takes] double precautions, thus calamity never arises. When planning for good fortune, he underestimates; when contemplating calamity, he overestimates.
If frost descends [on both] in the same day,
those who take shelter will suffer no harm.
If the fool has prepared,
his merit will be the same as that of the wise.
When the flame is still sputtering, one finger can extinguish it. When the leak in the dike is the size of a mouse hole, it can be plugged by a clump of earth.
Once the fire has ignited Mengzhu and set Yunmeng ablaze;
once the water has breached the Nine Rivers and flooded Jingzhou;85
even if one raised the multitudes of the Three Armies, one could not save [the situation]. [18/1 5/5–10]
Accumulated love creates good fortune;
accumulated resentment creates calamity.
Once the carbuncle bursts, the pus will be copious.
Zhuyu Yang86 told Duke Jian [of Qi],87 “Chen Chengchang and Zai Yu88 hate each other intensely. I fear this will develop into a problem that will endanger the state. You had best dismiss one of them.” Duke Jian did not listen. Not long afterward, Chen Chengchang indeed attacked Zai Yu in the palace hall and murdered Duke Jian at court.89 This is [an example of] not knowing to respect the small origins [of affairs].
The Ji clan and Hou clan had a cockfight.90 The Hou clan armored its cock, [and] the Ji clan gave its cock metal spurs. The Ji clan cock did not win. Ji Pingzi91 was angry, so he invaded the palace of the Hou clan and attacked them. Earl Zhao of Hou was angered, and he denounced him to Duke Zhao of Lu,92 saying, “When the di sacrifice is performed to Duke Xiang in the ancestral temple, there are only two [rows of] dancers; all the rest of them dance for the Ji clan. The Ji clan’s being without the Way and [recognizing] no authority has gone on for a long time. If you do not punish them, they will endanger the altars of the soil and grain.” The duke was enraged and spoke of this to Zijia Ju.93 Zijia Ju said, “The Ji clan has gained the masses; they are the first of the Three Families.94 Their Potency is great, their might is strong, what can Your Majesty do?” Duke Zhao did not listen to him and sent Earl Zhao of Hou to lead soldiers in an assault on [the Ji clan]. The Zhongsun clan and the Shusun clan plotted together, saying, “Without the Ji clan, our death will not be long off.” Then they raised troops to save [the Ji clan]. Earl Zhao of Hou died defeated; Duke Zhao of Lu fled to Qi.95 Thus the birth of a calamity can begin with a rooster’s foot and, at its greatest extent, end with the loss of the altars of the soil and grain. [18/195/12–24]
When the woman of Cai rocked the boat,
the army of Qi invaded Chu.96
Two men formed a grudge,
and Zai Yu was killed in the palace hall.
Duke Jian met with death,
perishing without issue.
When the Chen clan replaced them,
Qi was without the Lü [house].97
Two houses fought cocks;
the Ji clan [used] metal spurs.
The Hou clan created trouble;
[Duke] Zhao of Lu fled.
Thus, “where the army camps; thorns and brambles will grow.”98 Once it is born, calamity is not soon eradicated; it is like fire reaching an [arid] place [or] flood reaching a wetland. Soak it and it grows greater. A carbuncle breaks out on a finger, but its pain spreads to the entire body. Thus,
moths and ants can fell pillars and bridges;99
mosquitoes and gadflies can stampede cattle and sheep.
This says it all. [18/195/26–29]
All people diligently make preparations in case of disaster, yet none is able to understand how to prevent a disaster from occurring. Preventing a disaster is easier than preparing for a disaster, yet none apply themselves to this task, so there is not yet anyone with whom to discuss this art.
The ducal scion of Jin, Chong’er,100 was crossing Cao. The ruler of Cao wanted to see his joined ribs,101 and so he ordered him to fish naked. Xi Fuji102 stopped him, saying, “The ducal scion is not an ordinary person. The three men who are following him all [could] be aides of a hegemon or king. If you treat him without propriety, it will certainly bring distress to the state.” The ruler did not listen. When Chong’er returned to his state, he raised an army and assaulted Cao, thus exterminating it. [The ruler of Cao’s] death at another’s hand, the ruination of his altars of the soil and grain: all these calamities originated in [forcing Chong’er] to fish naked. Qi and Chu wanted to save Cao; they could not preserve it.103 If Xi Fuji’s words had been listened to, the disaster of extinction would not have occurred. [18/196/1–6]
Now if you do not apply yourself to preventing disasters from occurring [but] attempt to deal with them once they have occurred, even if you had the wisdom of a sage, you could not plan for it. Moreover, the sources of disaster and calamity have a myriad starting points and no [sure] direction. This is why the sage abides remotely and avoids disgrace, [remaining] quiescent and tranquil and awaiting the moment.
Petty people do not understand the portals of calamity and good fortune. They move erratically, impeded by nets and snares. Although they make detailed precautions, how will this suffice to preserve their persons? It is comparable to digging a pond after [one’s house] is lost to fire [or] using a fan after one has donned a coat. Moreover,
if the walls of [the pond] have ten thousand holes,
and you plug one, will the fish not quickly find an escape?
If the house has one hundred doors,
and you lock one, will the thief not quickly find an entrance?
The collapse of the wall [begins] with a crack;
if the sword breaks, there was definitely a nick. .
The sage sees them early, thus none of the myriad things can do him harm.
Great Steward Zizhu served food to Prime Minister Ziguo.104 Prime Minister Ziguo tried the stew and it was hot, so he grabbed a goblet of grain water105 and poured it into [the stew]. The next day, Great Steward Zizhu resigned his post and went home. His driver said, “The grand stewardship of Chu is not easily attained, [so] why did you resign your post and give it up?” Zizhu said, “The prime minister is careless in conduct and neglects propriety; it will not be difficult for him to disgrace others.” The next year [the prime minister] threw down the director of court gentlemen and flogged him three hundred [strokes]. A superior official first avoids calamity and only afterward pursues benefit, first distances himself from disgrace and only afterward seeks reputation. Great Steward Zizhu’s perception of ends and beginnings was subtle! [18/196/6–16]
Before the goose or the swan has hatched from the egg, if you poke106 it with one finger, it will disintegrate and become shapeless. Once its sinews and bones are already formed and its feathers and wings have matured, then
it flaps its wings and flies up,
leaping to the floating clouds.
Its back carries the blue sky;
its breast scrapes the red mists.
It soars above the atmosphere;
it roams among the rainbows.
Even if one had a strong bow, sharp arrows, a fine tether cord, and the skill of Bo Juzi,107 one still could not reach it. Where the waters of the Yangzi first emerge from Mount Min, one can hitch up one’s robe and jump across it. Coming to where it passes Dongting, rushes through Shicheng, and crosses Dantu,108 it throws up waves and billows. In a boat, one can not cross it in a single day. For this reason, the sages often pursue affairs beyond the Formless and do not rest their thoughts or exhaust their reflections on actual events. Thus disaster and calamity cannot harm them. [18/196/18–23]
Someone asked of Confucius, “What type of person is Yan Hui?”
[He] replied, “A humane person. I do not equal him.”
“What type of person is Zigong?”
[He] said, “An eloquent person. I do not equal him.”
“What type of person is Zilu?”
[He] said, “A brave person. I do not equal him.”
The guest said, “These three people are all more worthy than you, yet you lead them, why?” Confucius said, “I can be humane or stern, eloquent or inarticulate, brave or timorous. If I could trade my three students’ abilities for my one Way, I would not do it.” Confucius knew how to apply [these qualities]. [18/196/25–28]
Niu Que of Qin109 was passing through the mountains and encountered bandits. They stole his carriage and horses, took his sacks and boxes, and stripped him of his robe and coat. When the bandits looked back at him, he did not have a frightened countenance or a distressed disposition; he was cheerful as if content. The bandits thus asked him, “We having taken your possessions and your goods, robbed you at knifepoint, yet you are not upset, why?” Niu Que of Qin said, “Carriages and horses are what carry my person; robes and coats are what cover my physical frame. The sage does not harm what he nurtures for the sake of that with which he nurtures it.” The bandits looked at one another and laughed, saying, “If he will not harm his life on account of desire or encumber his physical frame for the sake of profit, he is a sage of this generation. If someone like this was ever to meet the king, he would certainly make us his business.” [Thus] they went back and killed him.110
This [shows] that one can be wise to the wise, but one cannot be wise to the unwise. One can be brave to the courageous, but one cannot be brave to the cowardly. All those who have the Way respond to all [situations] yet are never lacking. They encounter difficulty and are able to avoid it; thus the world honors them. In this case [Niu Que] understood how to act for himself, but he did not understand how to act for others. His reasoning was not yet penetrating. When people can move from brilliance to obscurity, they are near the Way.
The Odes say,
“People have a saying,
‘There is no wise [man] who is not a fool.’”111
This says it all. [18/197/1–8]
Actions:
Some are done in order to cause something and ultimately ruin it;
some are done to ward off something and ultimately bring it about.
How do we know this is so?
The [First] Emperor of Qin spread out the “records and charts.” Their text read, “Hu will destroy Qin.”112 Thus he sent out five hundred thousand troops and dispatched Duke Meng113 and Yang Wengzi114 to command. They built the Great Wall extending from Liusha to the west, striking north as far as the Liao River,115 and terminating to the east in Korea. The [people of] the internal commanderies of the Middle Kingdom pulled carts to supply them.
[The First Emperor of Qin] also valued the rhinoceros horn, ivory, jade, and pearls of Yue. Thus he sent Commandant Tu Sui116 with five hundred thousand troops. These were made into five armies.
One army fortified the mountain peak at Xincheng;117
one army defended the pass at Jiuyi;118
one army was positioned at the capital of Fanyu;119
one army guarded the frontier at Nanye;120
one army encamped at the Yugan River.121
For three years, they did not take off their armor or unstring their bows. Supervisor Lu122 was sent to transport their provisions; he also used soldiers to dig canals and thus open the route for supplies. They fought with the people of Yue and killed Yi Xusong, the ruler of Xi’ou123
But all the Yue people went into the forests and lived with the birds and beasts; none was willing to be captured by the Qin. They conferred with one another in establishing a brave and outstanding [man] as commander and attacked the Qin by night, greatly crushing them. They killed Commandant Tu Sui, [and] there were tens of thousands of bloody corpses. [Qin] thus sent more guards to defend against [the Yue].
At this time men could not farm their fields, [and] women could not gather hemp or make thread. The emaciated and weak pushed carriages on the roads; noblemen met one another at the crossroads carrying baskets. The sick were not cared for; the dead were not buried. At that point Chen Sheng rose in Daze.124 He raised his arm, gave a great shout, and rolled the world up like a rug all the way to Xi.125 Liu [Bang] and Xiang [Yu]126 raised righteous soldiers following after [Chen Sheng] and secured [his victory].
Like snapping a withered tree or shaking loose [hanging fruit], [the Qin] thus lost the empire. The calamity resided in defending against the Hu and seeking profit in Yue. They wanted to know that building the Great Wall would defend against collapse; they did not know that building the Great Wall would be the cause of their collapse. They sent more guards to defend against the Yue and did not know that their troubles would arise from within.
When the magpie first notices that the [season of] the year is becoming very windy, it leaves the high trees and makes its nest in the lower branches. Adult [humans] who pass by thus take their chicks; children who come by steal their eggs. It knows to prepare against distant troubles yet forgets the closer disaster. Thus,
the preparations of Qin
equal the wisdom of the magpie. [18/197/10–22]
Some contend for profit yet conversely strengthen [their opponent];
some listen and obey yet conversely impede [their leader].
How do we know this is so?
Duke Ai of Lu127 wanted to expand his residence westward. The court scribe fought this, saying that to expand the residence westward would be inauspicious. Duke Ai flushed and became angry. Many of his attendants admonished him, but he would not listen. Thereupon [the duke] asked his tutor, Zai Zhesui,128 “I want to expand my residence, and the court scribe thinks it is inauspicious. What do you think?” Zai Zhesui said, “In the world there are three bad auguries and expanding one’s residence to the west is not among them.” Duke Ai was greatly pleased.129 After a moment, he asked, “What are called the ‘three bad auguries?’” [Zai] replied, “Not practicing Ritual and Rightness is one bad augury. Unchecked greed is the second bad augury. Not listening to forceful admonition is the third bad augury.” Duke Ai became silent and deep in thought. Sighing,130 he reversed himself and thus did not expand the residence westward.
The court scribe thought that contending with [the duke] could halt him, but he did not understand how he could be enticed by not contending with him. The wise leave the path and attain the Way; fools stick to the Way and lose the path. The skill of Ni Yue131 was such that there was no knot he could not “untie.”132 It was not that he could untie all knots; he did not untie what could not be untied. One who has reached the point of “untying it by not untying it” is one with whom one can reach the utmost133 reasoning. [18/197/24–18/198/6]
Some make manifest Ritual and Rightness and promote the essence of the Way, but do not succeed.
Some abandon structure and speak rashly, but conversely hit the mark.
How do we illustrate this?
Confucius was traveling in the eastern countryside when his horse escaped and ate some farmers’ crops. The country people were angry, [so] they took the horse and tethered it. [Confucius] sent Zigong to persuade them. He used polite phrases,134 but they did not understand. Confucius said, “If [what] you use to persuade them [is] what people are unable to listen to, it is like using the great lao sacrificial feast to feed a wild animal or the ‘Nine Harmonies’135 to serenade the flying birds. This is my mistake; it is not your oversight.” Thereupon he sent the groom to persuade them. When he got there, [the groom] said to the country people, “You till from the East Sea all the way to the West Sea. When my horse becomes lost; where could it [go] that it would not be eating your crops?” The country people were greatly pleased; they let the horse go and gave it to him.136 A persuasion like this had no technique, yet paradoxically it worked. Affairs reach a point at which skill is not as good as ineptness; thus the sage “measures the mortise and corrects the tenon.”
If you sing “Gathering Water Chestnuts” and play “Northern Bank”137 to rustics, they will not find them as harmonious as “Late Dew.”138 It is not that the singer is inept; it is that the listeners are different. Thus,
crossed strokes do not extend;
a continuous circle is never broken.
When things do not communicate [with one another],
the sage does not fight [them]. [18/198/8–15]
Humaneness is what the common people admire;
Rightness is what the masses exalt.
To do what people admire,
to practice what people exalt:
this is what the stern father teaches his sons,
and the way in which the loyal minister serves his ruler.
However, in any age there are those who use them and [suffer] personal death and the loss of their states, because they do not understand the times.
In antiquity, King Yan of Xu139 loved practicing Humaneness and Rightness. The lands that paid court to him numbered thirty-two states. Wangsun Li140 said to King Zhuang of Chu, “If you do not assault Xu, you must conversely pay court to Xu.” The king said, “King Yan is a ruler who has the Way; he practices Humaneness and Rightness. I should not attack him.” Wangsun Li said, “I have heard it said, ‘The [contest] between the great and the small, the strong and the weak, is like throwing a stone at an egg or a tiger devouring a piglet. What doubt is there [of the outcome]?’ Moreover, there is no confusion greater than practicing civility without being able to extend its Potency, practicing martiality without being able to rely on its power.” The king of Chu said, “Excellent!” Thereupon he took up arms and assaulted Xu, exterminating it. This is [an example of] understanding Humaneness and Rightness and not understanding the alterations of the age.
Jasmine and angelica141 are what beauties love to wear; once they are steeped in rancid water used to wash rice, they cannot retain their fragrance. In antiquity,
the Five Thearchs valued Potency;
the Three Kingly [Dynasties] used Rightness;
the Five Hegemons relied on strength.
In this case, taking the Ways of Thearchs and Kings and applying them in the age of the Five Hegemons was [like] riding a fast horse to pursue someone into the underbrush or performing a ceremony in one’s rain clothes. If you plant after the frost descends and harvest while the ice melts and want something to eat, you will be in trouble. [18/198/17–27]
Thus the Changes says,
“The submerged dragon does not act.”142
This says that the times cannot be moved.
Thus,
“The gentleman is diligent all day,
cautious as if beset by night;
[therefore] he incurs no blame.”143
“Diligent all day” is moving during yang. “Cautious as if beset by night” is resting during yin. Moving in accord with the day and resting in accord with the night is something that only those who have the Way can do.
King Yan of Xu practiced Rightness and was exterminated;
Zikuai of Yan practiced Humaneness and was deposed.144
Duke Ai loved Confucians and lost territory;
the lord of Dai became a Mohist and was annihilated.145
Extermination, deposition, loss of territory, and annihilation are the fate of the cruel and rebellious, yet these four rulers all were lost by being Humane, Righteous, Confucian, and Mohist. It is because the times they encountered required that [they act] differently. It is not that Humaneness, Rightness, and [the teachings of] Confucius and Mozi do not work. If you use them in the wrong era, you will be trapped by them. [18/198/27–18/199/4]
A halberd is used to attack fortifications;
a mirror is used to reflect one’s physical frame.
If a eunuch gets a halberd, he will use it to cut sunflowers;
if a blind man gets a mirror, he will use it to cover his water flask.
This is because they do not know how [these things] are applied. Thus,
[although the level of] excellence and mediocrity are the same,
criticism and praise are decided by custom.
[Although what is] chosen and rejected may be the same,
[whether] it is deviant or compliant is decided by the times.
Kuang Jue146 refused emolument and was punished;
Duangan Mu147 declined the office of prime minister and became eminent.
Their actions were the same, but their profit and harm differed because the times made it so. Thus even if the sage has ambition, if he does not meet with his era, his efforts will suffice only to preserve his person. What merit or reputation can he achieve? [18/199/6–11]
If you understand what Heaven does and understand what human beings accomplish, then you have what you need to make your way in the age. If you understand Heaven but do not understand humankind, then you will not be able to interact with ordinary [people]. If you understand humankind but do not understand Heaven, you will not be able to be a companion to the Way.
Shan Bao148 turned away from the age and departed from the vulgar. He lived on a cliff and drank from a valley [stream]. He did not wear silk or hemp; he did not eat the five grains. After seventy years he still had the complexion of a child. In the end he met a hungry tiger who killed and ate him.149
Zhang Yi150 was fond of courtesy.
Whenever he crossed the palace court, he always hurried;
Whenever he encountered anyone from his village, he always bowed.
He treated all servants and grooms with the utmost propriety. But he did not live out his life span; he developed a fever and died.151
Bao nurtured his interior, and a tiger ate his exterior;
Yi cultivated his exterior, and sickness attacked his interior.
Thus the one who corrected his thoughts and harmonized his feelings was robbed by the hard and the strong; the one who devoted himself to external things was devoured by yin and yang. They both persisted in their tasks but were deficient in balancing them. A knight who has the Way transforms externally but does not transform internally. Transforming externally is how one approaches other people. Not transforming internally is how one preserves one’s person. Thus within, one has unified and stable discipline; without, one can withdraw and extend, expand and contract, close and open. [One] moves and shifts with things, thus in ten thousand undertakings one is never trapped. The sage is honored because he can alter as a dragon [can]. In this case [Dan Bao and Zhang Yi] tightly maintained a single discipline and promoted a single conduct. Even though it shattered and extinguished [them], they would not change it. This is to be focused on petty affections and blocked from the Great Way. [18/199/13–22]
Zhao Xuanmeng152 saved a starving man under a twisted mulberry, and the world called him humane.153
Ci Fei of Jing was beset in the middle of the Yangzi; he did not lose his treasure, and the world called him brave.154
For this reason, on seeing some small conduct, one may figure out the greater pattern.
Tian Zifang155 went out and saw an old horse on the thoroughfare. Sighing, he had an idea and asked his driver, “What horse is that?” [The driver] said, “That was one of the ducal house’s stable. Now it is retired and not used, thus they have sent it out and sold it.” Tian Zifang said, “When young, to covet its strength; when old, to abandon its body; this is what a humane person will not do.” He bought [the horse] with a bolt of silk. On hearing of this, retired warriors all knew to whom their hearts should turn.
Duke Zhuang of Qi went hunting; there was an insect that raised its legs to fight with his [chariot] wheel. He asked his driver, “What insect is this?” [The driver] replied, “That is what is called the mantis. Among [all the] insects this one knows only [how to] advance, not retreat. Without assessing its strength, it scorns its opponent.”156 Duke Zhuang said, “If it were human, it would be one of the world’s bravest warriors!” At this he turned the chariot to avoid it. When brave warriors heard of this, they knew for whom to [fight] to the death.
Thus,
Tian Zifang sheltered an old horse, and the kingdom of Wei exalted him;
Duke Zhuang of Qi avoided one mantis, and brave warriors turned to him.
Tang taught how to bless the nets, and forty states paid court.157 King Wen buried the bones of the dead, and the Nine Yi submitted.158 King Wu shaded the sun-stroked man beneath a tree, cradling him with his left [arm] and fanning him with his right, and the world cherished his Potency.159 King Goujian of Yue released one innocent man from jail. He grabbed [his sword] Dragon Abyss and cut his thigh, so that the blood ran down to his feet, to punish himself, and [his] warriors resolved to die. They were moved by his mercy. Thus the sages act on the small [scale] so that they may encompass the large [scale]; they are thorough with respect to the near so that they may embrace the far.
When Sunshu Ao released the river at Qisi and irrigated the countryside of Yulou,160 King Zhuang knew he could be prime minister. When Zifa divided tasks up so that work and leisure were equal, the state of Qi knew that he could be commander of the military. These both are [cases of] taking shape in the small and the subtle yet penetrating to the Grand Pattern. [18/199/24–18/200/10]
When the sage undertakes an affair, he does not pay extra attention to it. He investigates its basis; that is all. If ten thousand people were to tune a bell, they could not get it near the [proper] pitch. If you find someone who really understands [music], one person will suffice. The arguments of persuaders are also like this. If they truly achieve their aim, there is no need for more. The essence of what makes a cart able to travel one thousand miles is in three inches of axle. If you exhort people and cannot move them, if you warn people and cannot halt them, it is because the basis [of your words] is not reasonable.
In the olden days, the lord of Wey paid court to Wu and the king of Wu161 imprisoned him, intending to cast him out to the sea. The persuaders and officials opposed [the king] yet could not stop him. When the lord of Lu heard of this, he unhooked his bells and drums and attended court in white [mourning] clothes. When Confucius saw him, he said, “Why do you look distressed?” The lord of Lu said, “The Lords of the Land have no kin; only [the other] Lords of the Land are our kin. The nobles have no companions; only [other] nobles are their companions. Now the lord of Wey has paid court to Wu, and the king of Wu has imprisoned him and wants to cast him out to sea. Who would think that someone as Humane and Righteous as the lord of Wey would encounter this difficulty! I would like to save him but am unable. What can I do about it?” Confucius said, “If you would like to save him, then please [let] Zigong go.” The lord of Lu summoned Zigong and granted him a general’s seal. Zigong declined it, saying, “Rank is of no aid in resolving calamity; it resides in the Way that one takes as one’s basis.” Traveling incognito, he arrived in Wu and saw Great Steward Pi.162 Great Steward Pi was very pleased with him and wanted to recommend him to the king. Zigong said, “You are not able to make a persuasion for the king; why don’t I [make one] for you?” Great Steward Pi said, “How do you know that I am not able?”
Zigong said, “When the lord of Wey came, half of Wey said that it would be better to pay court to Jin; the other half said that it would be better to pay court to Wu. However, the lord of Wey felt that he could consign his flesh and bones to Wu, so he bound himself [by oath] and awaited orders. Now you receive the lord of Wey and imprison him and also want to cast him out to sea. This is rewarding those who spoke for paying court to Jin and punishing those who spoke for paying court to Wu. Moreover, the Lords of the Land all consider the arrival of the lord of Wey as an augury. If now he pays court to Wu and does not benefit, they all will shift their hearts to Jin. If you hope to complete the work of becoming hegemon, will it not be difficult?” Great Steward Pi went in [to court] and repeated this to the king. The king responded by issuing orders to the hundred officials that said, “For the next ten days, anyone who does not treat the lord of Wey with perfect propriety will die!” Zigong may be said to have understood how to persuade.163 [18/200/12–27]
Duke Ai of Lu was building living quarters, and they were [very] large. Gongxuanzi164 admonished him, saying, “If rooms are big,
when one occupies them with a great many people, they are cacophonous;
when one occupies them with few people, they are gloomy.
I would urge you to amend them.” The duke said, “I hear and obey.” [Yet] the building of the living quarters continued uninterrupted. Gongxuanzi had an audience again and said,
“When the state is small and the living quarters are large;
when the common people hear of it, they will certainly resent my ruler.
When the Lords of the Land hear of it, they will certainly scorn my state.”
The lord of Lu said, “[I] hear and obey.” [Yet] the building of the living quarters continued uninterrupted. Gongxuanzi had an audience again and said, “To the left is [the ancestral temple of Duke] Zhao, and to the right [is the ancestral temple of Duke] Mu. To build such grand rooms next to the temples of the two former lords, can it not be harmful to the son?”165 The duke thereupon ordered that work be stopped and that the frame be disassembled and discarded.
The lord of Lu was determined in his desire to build the living quarters; Gongxuanzi was persistent in curbing him. Yet of three persuasions, only one was listened to; the other two were not [the duke’s] Way. If you cast a hook at the riverside, and after it has been in all day, you are unable to catch a single white fish, it is not that the river fish do not eat, it is that what you are using as bait is not what they desire. When a skilled hand grasps the pole, casts [the hook,] and pierces biting lips, he is able to do so because he has lured [the fish] with what they desire. There is no thing about which nothing can be done, [only] people who have nothing they can do. Lead and cinnabar are of different categories and have separate colors. Yet if one can use [both of] them to produce scarlet, it is because one has grasped the technique. Thus intricate formulas and elegant phrases are of no aid to persuasion. Investigate what they take as the basis; that is all. [18/201/1–9]
The juxtapositions of the categories of things so that they are close [to one another] but of a different family are numerous and difficult to recognize. Thus
some are placed in categories to which they do not belong;
some are excluded from categories to which they do belong.
Some seem so and are not;
some are not and seem so.
A proverb says, “When a hawk dropped a rotten mouse, the Yu clan was lost.” What does this mean? It is said that the Yu clan were tycoons of Liang. Their household was replete with riches; they had limitless gold and coins, immeasurable wealth and goods. They raised a lofty tower on the edge of the highway on which they staged musical [performances], served wine, and played games of chess.166 As some wandering swordsmen passed under the tower together, one of the chess players above167 moved against his friend’s position and laughed as he turned over two pieces.168 [Just at that moment] a flying hawk dropped a rotten mouse as it passed and hit the wandering swordsmen.
The wandering swordsmen said to one another, “The Yu clan’s days of wealth and happiness have been long, and they often are scornful of other people’s will. We did not dare to disturb them, yet they insult us with a dead mouse. If this is not avenged, we will not be able to stand and proclaim ourselves to the world. Let us unite our strength to a single purpose, lead all our followers, and resolve to exterminate their house.” That night they attacked the Yu clan and exterminated the house. This is what is called “placing it in a category in which it does not belong.” [18/201/11–18]
What is called “excluding [it] from a category to which [it] does [belong]”? Qu Jian169 told Shi Qi, “Duke Sheng of Bo170 is about to rebel.” Shi Qi said, “Not so. Duke Sheng of Bo humbles his person and exalts knights; he would not dare treat the worthy arrogantly. His house lacks the safeguards of keys and locks or the security of crossbars and bolts. He uses oversized dou and hu [measures] in distributing [grain] and undersized jin and liang [weights] when collecting [it]. Your assessment of him is inaccurate.” Qu Jian replied, “These [conditions] are precisely why he will rebel.” After three years, Duke Sheng of Bo indeed did rebel,171 killing Prime Minister Zijiao172 and Minister of War Ziqi.173 This is what is called “being excluded from a category yet belonging to it.” [18/201/20–23]
What is called “seeming so and yet not”? Zifa was the magistrate of Shangcai.174 A common person committed a crime and faced punishment. The case was disputed and the arguments made. When it was decided before the magistrate, Zifa sighed with a pitiful heart. When the criminal had been punished, he did not forget Zifa’s kindness. After this, Zifa committed a crime against King Wei175 and fled. The man who had been punished thus disguised the one who had been kind to him, and the man who had been kind fled with him to a hut below the city walls. When pursuers arrived, [the man] stamped his foot and said angrily, “Zifa oversaw and decided my crime and had me punished; my hatred for him makes my bones and marrow ache. If I could get his flesh and eat it, I could never have enough!” The pursuers all felt he was truthful and did not search the interior, so Zifa survived. This is what is called “seeming so and yet not.”176 [18/201/25–29]
What is called “not yet seeming so”? In antiquity, King Goujian of Yue humbled himself to King Fuchai of Wu.177 He asked to serve [Fuchai] personally as his minister and to give [Fuchai] his wife as concubine. He supplied the four seasonal sacrifices and remanded tribute every spring and autumn. He took down the altars of the soil and grain, exerted his energies [like a] commoner, lived in seclusion, and fought in the front ranks. He was extremely humble in all courtesies and extremely submissive in all speech. He distanced himself far from the mind of a rebel, yet with three thousand men he captured Fuchai at Guxu.178
One cannot fail to examine these four cases. What makes it difficult to understand affairs is that [people] hide their origins and conceal their tracks; they establish the selfish in the place of the impartial; they incline toward the deviant over the correct and confuse other people’s minds with victory. If one could make what people harbor internally tally perfectly with what they express externally, then the world would have no lost states or broken households. When the fox catches the pheasant, it must first prostrate its body and lower its ears179 and wait for [the pheasant] to come. The pheasant sees this and believes it, thus it can be enticed and captured. If the fox were to widen its eyes and stare directly [at the pheasant], manifesting its lethal inclination, the pheasant would know to be alarmed and fly far off, thus escaping [the fox’s] wrath.
The mutual deception of human artifice
is not merely the cunning of birds and beasts.
The resemblances between things and categories that cannot be externally assessed are numerous and difficult to recognize. For this reason, they cannot but be investigated. [18/202/1–8]
Translated by Andrew Meyer
1. Accepting the alternative Daozang reading of 
for 
. See Lau, HNZ, 185n.4.
2. Reading 
as a mistake for 
. See Lau, HNZ, 186n.1.
3. The Admonitions of Yao 
seems to be a lost text; it is not mentioned in any of the early histories or bibliographical treatises. HFZ 46/138/27 quotes the second sentence of this passage, citing it as “a saying of a former sage.”
4. Bian Que 
was a famous physician who lived in the fifth century B.C.E. See Shiji 105:2785–94.
5. According to Xu Shen, Yu Fu 
was a physician at the time of the Yellow Emperor. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1835n.12.
6. Yang Shuda asserts that this line is a superfluous interpolation, as the context would seem to suggest. See Lau, HNZ, 186n.7.
7. This battle took place in 597 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Xuan 12. Yong 
was a town in present-day Shaanxi Province.
8. Qin 
was a frontier region of Chu located in present-day Anhui Province.
9. Accepting Yu Dacheng’s proposed emendation. See Lau, HNZ, 186n.8.
10. Reading 
as the character qi (second tone; 
on top, 
on the bottom). See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1841n.8.
11. This anecdote also appears in LSCQ 10.4/50/24–28 and HFZ 21/42/21–23.
12. The gathering took place in 574 B.C.E. The Zuozhuan gives the name of the meeting site as Keling 
(Cheng 17; Yang 895).
13. Zuozhuan, Cheng 17. The Jiangli 
clan, Luan Shu 
, and Zhonghang Yan 
all were vassals of Jin.
14. This anecdote occurs in LSCQ 20.7/136/7–11.
15. The two anecdotes alluded to here, concerning Zhang Wu and Shenshu Shi, form the body of 18.13. Because their summary mention at this point is rather odd and breaks the flow of the envoy, these lines may be an interpolated note from a later commentator. For the provenance and background of these stories, see 18.13 and its attendant notes.
16. Changes, hexagrams 41, Sun, and 42, Yi, respectively.
17. This incident occurred in 502 B.C.E. See Shiji 14:667. Yang Hu 
was a knight of Lu who was briefly able to consolidate control over the ducal court.
18. This battle took place in 575 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Cheng 16. Yanling 
is in present-day Henan Province. King Gong 
reigned from 590 to 575 B.C.E.
19. Zifan 
was an aristocrat of the Chu royal clan. According to the Zuozhuan, he committed suicide after the battle.
20. This anecdote occurs in LSCQ 15.2/81/13–21 and HFZ 10/14/1–7.
21. This occurred in 400 B.C.E. See Shiji 44:1840. Yue Yang 
was a general of Wei. Zhongshan 
was a state established by the White Di people in present-day Hebei Province.
22. This anecdote appears in HFZ 22/49/7–9.
23. Meng Sun 
was a grandee of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period.
24. This anecdote appears in HFZ 22/49/11–14.
25. Gongsun Yang 
(also known as Lord Shang 
[ca. 390–338 B.C.E.]) was the prime minister of Qin. After falling out of favor in Qin, he fled to Wei but was refused refuge because of an old injury he had done to a Wei prince. See Shiji 68:2236–37.
26. This appears to allude to Gongsun Yang’s ultimate fate of being torn apart by chariots.
27. Accepting Yu Dacheng’s emendation. See Lau, HNZ, 188n.7.
28. The Zhanguoce gives this figure’s name as Ren Zhang 
.
29. Deleting the characters yixin 
, as recommended by Yang Shuda. See Lau, HNZ, 188n.10.
30. Viscount Huan of Wei 
(d. 446 B.C.E.), Viscount Kang of Hann 
, and Viscount Xiang of Zhao 
(d. 425 B.C.E.) were the leaders of great ministerial lineages of Jin. Each lineage ultimately founded an independent kingdom.
31. That is, Hann, Wei, and Zhao.
32. This anecdote appears in ZGC 264A/140/7–12 and HFZ 22/47/1–7.
33. This occurred in 658 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Xi 2; and Yang Bojun 
, Chunqiu Zuozhuan zhu 
(Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1990), 281–83. Duke Xian 
ruled Jin from 676 to 651 B.C.E. Yu 
and Guo 
were small states in what is present-day Shaanxi Province. See also 7.16, 10.47, 11.7, 17.57, and 20.21.
34. Reading the original 
instead of Lau’s proposed emendation of 
(side rail).
35. Xun Xi 
, a grandee of Jin, was commander of the assault against Guo.
36. This anecdote occurs in LSCQ 15.2/81/23–82/6 and HFZ 10/14/10–19.
37. Four sacrifices are listed: jiao, wang, di, and chang (
). According to Xu Shen, the first is to Heaven; the second is to the spirits of the sun, moon, stars, planets, mountains, and rivers; and the third and fourth are ancestral sacrifices. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1856n.2.
38. This presumably refers to the so-called five cardinal relationships of ruler to minister, father to son, husband to wife, older to younger brother, and friend to friend. Only four of these are subsequently mentioned, however. See Lau, HNZ, 189n.2.
39. Zhao Zheng 
— that is, Qin Shihuangdi.
40. Li Si 
(d. 208 B.C.E.) was the prime minister of Qin during the unification of the empire.
41. The symmetrical structure here is less clear than in other sections but nonetheless accords with the chapter as a whole. The example of Yu, Qi, and Lord Millet of high antiquity, whose activism produced meritorious results, is contrasted with that of Confucius, whose quietism during a later era of “yin Potency” was the correct path to a “resplendent name.”
42. That is, grandfather, father, son.
43. Literally, “the first born,” xian sheng 
—that is, the oldest of the “three generations.”
44. This line seems displaced from the beginning of the section, as it introduces the topic of both linked anecdotes.
45. Mounted nomads of the northern steppes.
46. This anecdote appears in LSCQ 25.2/161/22–26 and HFZ 32/83/7–9. According to Xu Shen, Gaoyang Tui was a grandee of Song. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1863n.3.
47. Lord Jingguo 
(also known as Tian Ying 
) was a scion of the Tian clan who became prime minister of Qi in 311 B.C.E. His son attained fame as Lord Mengchang. His fief of Xue 
is located in present-day Shandong Province.
48. This anecdote also appears in HFZ 23/55/4–9 and ZGC 99/49/10–15.
49. It is unclear to which historical event the text is alluding, if any. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1865n.1.
50. According to Xu Shen, Niuzi 
, Kuozi 
, and Wuhaizi 
all were ministers of Qi.
51. This battle took place in 632 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Xi 28. Jiu Fan 
(d. 622 B.C.E.) was a minister and Yong Ji 
was a ducal scion of Jin, respectively. Chengpu 
was a city located in present-day Shandong Province.
52. This passage seems to be out of place, as the preamble to this section seems to begin in the following line. These lines should be at the conclusion of the section. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1867–68n.9.
53. This anecdote appears in LSCQ 14.4/73/26–14.4/74/2 and HFZ 36/113/9–16.
54. Zhang Mengtan 
was a vassal of Viscount Xiang of Zhao.
55. This anecdote appears, in a much extended version, in HFZ 10/15/10–10/17/2 and ZGC 203/103/24–203/105/6.
56. Gao He 
was another vassal of Viscount Xiang of Zhao.
57. This anecdote appears in HFZ 36/115/9–12 and LSCQ 14.4/74/9–13. It also occurs in 13.18. The Hanfeizi 36 version is translated in the introduction to chap. 19.
58. Laozi 62. The transmitted text of the Laozi and the two versions discovered at Mawangdui all are missing the second mei 
(beautiful).
59. Ximen Bao 
was a knight in the service of Marquis Wen of Wei. Ye 
is in present-day Hebei Province.
60. Di Huang 
was one of Marquis Wen of Wei’s court ministers.
61. Following Lau, HNZ, 192n.4.
62. Xie Bian 
was a magistrate of Wei.
63. Earl Mu of Zhonghang 
led the forces of Jin against Gu 
in 527 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Zhao 15. Gu was a small state in present-day Hebei Province.
64. Kui Wenlun 
was a grandee of Jin.
65. Meng Meng 
, a grandee of Qin, according to Xu Shen, was the son of the prime minister Baili Xi.
66. This attack occurred in 627 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Xi 33.
67. Xian Gao 
and Jian Tuo 
were merchants of Zheng.
68. Xian Zhen 
(d. 627 B.C.E.) was a noble of Jin. Yao 
is a mountain in present-day Henan Province.
69. An alternative version of this anecdote appears in LSCQ 16.4/93/20–16.4/94/11. Another version appears in 12.40 and a brief version in 13.11.
70. Xia Zhengshu 
was a grandee of Chen.
71. This event occurred in 598 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Xuan 11.
72. Shenshu Shi 
was a minister of King Zhuang of Chu. This anecdote is mentioned in 18.2.
73. Zhang Wu 
was a vassal of Earl Zhi. He is mentioned in LSCQ 2.4/10/2 and 22.6/148/25 as having encouraged the earl in his belligerent course. This anecdote is mentioned in 18.2.
74. Viscount Wen of Zhonghang 
was the leader of one of the “six ministerial clans” that for a time controlled the state of Jin.
75. Earl Zhi died in 453 B.C.E. See ZGC 203/105/8–14.
76. Laozi 44.
77. These events took place in 523 and 522 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Zhao 19, 20. Fei Wuji 
(d. 515 B.C.E.) was the junior mentor of Crown Prince Jian 
of Jing (Chu), with whom he had a falling out. King Ping 
ruled from 529 to 516 B.C.E.
78. That is, all the civilized or culturally “Chinese” states.
79. Wu Zishe 
was the grand mentor of Crown Prince Jian. Chengfu 
was a city in present-day Anhui Province.
80. The king had taken away one of his son’s wives, a particularly beautiful woman from Qin. See LSCQ 22.1/144/1–2.
81. This anecdote occurs in altered form in LSCQ 22.1/144/1–5.
82. Xu Shen identifies Tangzi 
as a grandee of Qi. Chen Pianzi 
may be the Jixia scholar identified in other texts as Tian 
Pian. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1887n.7. King Wei 
of Qi reigned from 356 to 320 B.C.E.
83. Following Lau, HNZ, 1 4n.7.
84. This anecdote appears in a different form in ZZ 12/30/9–11. Li Zhu 
or 
(here, “Grieving for Pearl”) appears in 1.6, and Jue Duo 
.(here, “Grabbing-Grasping”) in 19.5.
85. Both Mengzhu 
” and Yunmeng 
are marshes in present-day Henan and Hubei provinces, respectively; the Nine Rivers are tributaries of the Yangtze; and Jingzhou 
Bis a region encompassing central and southern Hubei, northern and central Hunan, and parts of Sichuan.
86. Yang Bojun suspects that this figure’s surname is Chen 
and that zhuyu is an official title meaning something like “ordinary charioteer” (Chunqiu Zuozhuan zhu, 1683).
87. These events occurred in 481 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Ai 14. Duke Jian 
reigned from 484 to 481 B.C.E.
88. The names of these two figures are somewhat garbled. Chen Chengchang 
is more frequently recorded as Tian Chang 
. He was a grandee of Qi and the leader of the powerful Tian clan. He initially shared the prime ministership of Qi with Jian Zhi 
, whom he killed in the incident described in this anecdote. Zai Yu 
(522–458 B.C.E.) was a disciple of Confucius. It is possible that Jian Zhi and Zai Yu were the same figure. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1893–94n.7.
89. This anecdote occurs in LSCQ 17.6/106/19–23.
90. These events took place in 517 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Zhao 25. The Ji 
and Hou 
clans were grandee families of the state of Lu.
91. Ji Pingzi 
(d. 505 B.C.E.) was head of the Ji, or Jisun 
, clan.
92. Earl Zhao of Hou 
was head of the Hou clan. Duke Zhao of Lu 
reigned from 541 to 510 B.C.E.
93. Zijia Ju 
was a grandee of Lu and kinsman of the ducal house.
94. That is, the Jisun, Mengsun 
, and Shusun 
clans, three branch lineages of the ducal house of Lu that had consolidated great power in the sixth century B.C.E.
95. This anecdote appears in LSCQ 16.6/96/18–26.
96. The “woman of Cai” 
married Duke Huan of Qi. One day while boating with her husband, she rocked the boat and frightened him, for which he divorced her. This began a chain of events that ultimately led to a war between Qi and Chu. See HFZ 32/84/14–19.
97. The Lü 
clan was the original ducal house chartered at Qi by the Zhou kings. They were usurped by their vassals, the Chen (or Tian) clan, in 386 B.C.E.
98. Laozi 30.
99. Following Liu Taigong’s 
alternative reading. See Lau, HNZ, 195n.3.
100. Chong’er 
, later Duke Wen of Jin. See 12.22 and 20.37.
101. A physical anomaly for which Chong’er was known.
102. Xi Fuji was a minister and fief holder of Cao. See 11.6 and 12.22.
103. A somewhat different version of this anecdote occurs in Zuozhuan, Xi 23.
104. According to Xu Shen, both Zizhu 
and Ziguo 
were grandees of Chu. They are unrecorded elsewhere. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1902n.12.
105. This character seems to indicate drinking water thickened with millet or barley.
106. Following Lau’s (HNZ, 196n.2) proposed emendation.
107. Bo Juzi 
appears in 6.1, where he is said to have been able to bag a bird at a height of a hundred ren. Gao You’s commentary identifies him as a skilled bird hunter of Chu. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 1:642n.22. The “tether cord” mentioned in this passage refers to a thin line connecting the arrow to the bow so that a bird shot on the wing cannot get away.
108. Mount Min 
is in present-day Sichuan Province; Dongting 
is a lake in present-day Hunan Province; Shicheng 
was a city in present-day Henan Province; Dantu 
is a district in present-day Hubei Province.
109. According to LSCQ 14.8/78/25, Niu Que 
was a “great Confucian” who lived in the mountains. Gao You notes that he was a native of Qin. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1905n.4.
110. This anecdote appears, somewhat altered, in LSCQ 14.8/78/26–14.8/79/4.
111. Odes 256, “Grave” (
).
112. According to the Shiji, these “records and charts” were presented to the First Emperor of Qin by Lu Sheng 
in 215 B.C.E. after an expedition to “the island of the immortals.” See Shiji 6:252.
113. This is the famous Qin general Meng Tian 
(d. 210 B.C.E.).
114. According to Xu Shen, Yang Wengzi 
was a Qin general. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1908n.2.
115. Liusha 
, or “Flowing Sands,” was a desert region of the northwestern imperial domain (in the area of present-day Gansu Province). The Liao 
River flows through Manchuria in northeastern China.
116. Tu Sui 
was dispatched to campaign against the Yue in 214 B.C.E. See Shiji 112:2958.
117. According to Xu Shen, Xincheng 
is in present-day Hubei Province.
118. Jiuyi 
is a mountain in present-day Hunan Province.
119. Fanyu 
was a district in present-day Guangdong Province.
120. Nanye 
, or “Southern Wilderness,” was the name of a region in present-day Hubei Province.
121. The Yugan 
River is in present-day Hubei Province.
122. 
. The Shiji jijie notes that the first character of this binome (jian) is an attenuated office title and that the second (lu) is the individual’s name, his surname not having been transmitted. See Shiji 112:2959n.5.
123. According to Xu Shen, Xi’ou 
was a tribe of the Yue people, and Yi Xusong 
was their leader. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1910n.15.
124. Daze 
was a village in present-day Anhui Province.
125. Xi 
was a pavilion in present-day Shaanxi Province.
126. Liu Bang 
(247–195 B.C.E.) was a rebel leader against the Qin who became the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. Xiang Yu 
(232–202 B.C.E.) was a rival rebel leader who briefly held the title of “hegemon king” before being defeated by Liu Bang.
127. Duke Ai 
of Lu reigned from 494 to 468 B.C.E.
128. 
.
129. Following Yu Dacheng’s proposed emendation. See Lau, HNZ, 198n.1.
130. Following Wang Shumin’s proposed emendation. See Lau, HNZ, 198n.2.
131. Ni Yue 
was a noble and famed debater of Song. See chap. 16, n. 20. He is mentioned in HFZ 32/82/6–7.
132. The text here is working off a pun: the same character, jie 
, means both to “untie” a knot and to “solve” a puzzle or a riddle. This alludes to an anecdote in LSCQ 17.2/100/26–17.2/101/2. There the story is told about “a disciple of Ni Yue” who reportedly solved a knot puzzle by recognizing that it was impossible to untie. A similar point is made in 17.193, and the story is alluded to in 16.20.
133. Accepting Lau’s (HNZ, 198n.3) proposed emendation.
134. Conforming to the original text rather than following Lau’s emendation of 
to 
(“When his words were finished”).
135. The music of the sage-king Shun 
.
136. This anecdote occurs in LSCQ 14.8/79/13–16.
137. Both are songs of ancient Chu. See CC 9/23/13. “Northern Bank” appears there as “Waving Lotuses” 
.
138. According to Xu Shen, a popular rustic song. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1914n.5.
139. King Yan of Xu is a semilegendary figure who features in many early texts. A non-Chinese ruler of a southern people, he is variously said to have lived during the reign of King Mu of Zhou (r. ca. 976–ca. 922 B.C.E.), King Wen of Chu (r. 689–677 B.C.E.), or, as in the Huainanzi, King Zhuang of Chu (r. 613–591 B.C.E.). See Chen Qiyou, Hanfeizi xinjiaozhu (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2000), 1093–94n.4.
140. Wangsun Li 
, according to Xu Shen, was a minister of Chu.
141. These translations are approximate. The binomial terms for these plants appear only in the Huainanzi and are otherwise unknown.
142. Changes, hexagram 1, Qian 
, “Nine in the First Place” (
).
143. Changes, hexagram 1, Qian 
, “Nine in the Third Place” (
).
144. King Zikuai 
of Yan 
yielded his throne to his prime minister, Zizhi 
, in 316 B.C.E., in emulation of the ancient sages Yao and Shun. He was ultimately killed. See Shiji 15:732.
145. The lord of Dai 
was lured to his death at the hands of Viscount Xiang of Zhao in 457 B.C.E., according to LSCQ 14.5/75/14–22. There is no mention in that or any other extant account of his having been a Mohist.
146. According to Xu Shen, Kuang Jue 
was a hermit executed by the Grand Duke 
for leading the people astray. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1919n.19.
147. Duangan Mu 
was a recluse highly revered by Marquis Wen of Wei. See LSCQ 15.3/83/23–25.
148. Shan Bao 
was a hermit of Lu.
149. This anecdote appears in ZZ 19/50/30–31 and LSCQ 14.8/79/12–13.
150. Zhang Yi 
was a knight of Lu.
151. This anecdote appears in LSCQ 14.8/79/11–12 and ZZ 19/50/31–32.
152. Zhao Xuanmeng 
, or Viscount Xuan of Zhao, was a great minister of Jin during the reign of Duke Li (r. 581–573 B.C.E.).
153. This anecdote appears in Zuozhuan, Xuan 2; and LSCQ 15.4/84/8–18.
154. This anecdote appears in 12.49 and LSCQ 20.3/131/1–5.
155. Tian Zifang 
, an official of Wei honored as the teacher of Marquis Wen of Wei (r. 445– 396 B.C.E.), is said to have been a disciple of either Zigong or Zixia. A chapter of the Zhuangzi bears his name.
156. The image of the mantis waving its claws at an approaching carriage is cited twice in the Zhuangzi as a popular proverb (chaps. 4 and 12), but there it is treated as an example of foolish and futile bravado.
157. Tang prevented a hunter from using a prayer that would summon all birds into his net and instead taught him a prayer that would limit his catch to the birds he needed. See LSCQ 10.5/51/25–10.5/52/2.
158. According to LSCQ 10.5/52/4–7, King Wen’s workers discovered bones while digging a pond, and he ordered them ceremonially reinterred. Xu Shen gives an alternative version of the story. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1924n.20.
159. Discounting Lau’s proposed deletion of “his Potency.”
160. Qisi 
was the native place of Sunshu Ao, located in present-day Henan Province. Yulou 
was a neighboring town.
161. Xu Shen identifies the lord of Wey 
as Zhe 
, Duke Chu 
(r. 493–481 B.C.E.), and the king of Wu as Fuchai. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1927nn.1, 2.
162. Great Steward Pi 
(also known as Bo Pi 
[d. 473]), a great minister of Wu under King Fuchai, is often cited as a negative exemplar.
163. A much briefer and altered version of this anecdote appears in Zuozhuan, Ai 7.
164. Wang Shumin asserts that this figure’s name should be Gongyizi 
. See Lau, HNZ, 201n.1.
165. Discounting Lau’s (HNZ, 201n.2) proposed emendation, “to being a son.”
166. Accepting Wang Shumin’s proposed emendation. See Lau, HNZ, 201n.5.
167. Accepting Wang Shumin’s proposed emendation. See Lau, HNZ, 201n.6.
168. We translate the received text as it reads, assuming that the players are playing a game akin to wei qi 
(“encirclement chess,” known also by its Japanese name, go). Many commentators, however, would emend it according to the version of this anecdote that appears in LieZ 8/50/12–16, in which the players are playing a game that uses dice, such as liubo (for which, see chap. 15, n. 50). See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1932n.5; and A. C. Graham, trans., The Book of Lieh-tzü: A Classic of Tao (New York: Columbia University Press, 1990), 172–73.
169. According to Xu Shen, Qu Jian 
was a grandee of Chu.
170. See 12.5.
171. This occurred in 479 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Ai 16.
172. 
. Zuozhuan gives this figure’s name as Zixi.
173. 
. According to Xu Shen, both Zijiao and Ziqi were paternal uncles of Duke Sheng.
174. Shangcai 
was a district of ancient Chu in present-day Henan Province.
175. King Wei 
of Chu reigned from 339 to 329 B.C.E.
176. Lau’s (HNZ 18/201/29) text contains a seemingly superfluous ruo (
) that is not in other editions and should be excised. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1935n.18.
177. These events occurred in 493 B.C.E. See 12.23; and Shiji 31:1468–76.
178. Guxu 
is likely an alternative rendering of Gusu 
, a town in present-day Jiangsu Province. See He Ning, Huainanzi jishi (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1998), 1308.
179. Discounting Lau’s (HNZ 18/202/6) emendation of 
to 
. Lau seems to be emending on the basis of a parallel text found in Gao You’s commentary to LSCQ 8.4/41/11. See Chen Qiyou, Lüshi chunqiu jiaoshi (Shanghai: Xuelin, 1995), 458n.36. But the original text of the Huainanzi is more logical. Lowering the ears is a recognizable sign of submission among canines, whereas it is not clear how “smoothing its fur” would be at all observable.