Ren Jian Xun (Among Humans)

越王句踐一決獄不辜，援龍淵而切其股，血流至足，以自罰也，而戰武士必其死。故聖人行之於小，則可以覆大矣；審之於近，則可以懷遠矣。孫叔敖決期思之水而灌雩婁之野，莊王知其可以為令尹也。子發辯擊劇而勞佚齊，楚國知其可以為兵主也。此皆形於小微，而通於大理者也。聖人之舉事，不加憂焉，察其所以而已矣。今萬人調鐘，不能比之律；誠得知者，一人而足矣。說者之論，亦猶此也。誠得其數，則無所用多矣。夫車之所以能轉千里者，以其要在三寸之轄。夫勸人而弗能使也，禁人而弗能止也，其所由者非理也。昔者，衛君朝於吳，吳王囚之，欲流之於海。說者冠蓋相望，而弗能止。魯君聞之，撤鐘鼓之縣，縞素而朝。仲尼入見曰：「君胡為有憂色？」魯君曰：「諸侯無親，以諸侯為親。大夫無黨，以大夫為黨。今衛君朝於吳王，吳王囚之而欲流之於海。孰意衛君之仁義而遭此難也！吾欲免之而不能，為奈何？」仲尼曰：「若欲免之，則請子貢行。」魯君召子貢，授之將軍之印，子貢辭曰：「貴無益於解患，在所由之道。」斂躬而行，至於吳，見太宰嚭。太宰嚭甚悅之，欲薦之於王。子貢曰：「子不能行說於王，奈何吾因子也！」太宰嚭曰：「子焉知嚭之不能也？」子貢曰：「衛君之來也，衛國之半曰，不若朝於晉；其半曰，不若朝於吳。然衛君以為吳可以歸骸骨也，故束身以受命。今子受衛君而囚之，又欲流之於海，是賞言朝於晉者，而罰言朝於吳也。且衛君之來也，諸侯皆以為蓍龜兆。今朝於吳而不利，則皆移心於晉矣。子之慾成霸王之業，不亦難乎！」太宰嚭入，復之於王。王報出令於百官曰：「比十日，而衛君之禮不具者死！」子貢可謂知所以說矣。魯哀公為室而大，公宣子諫曰：「室大，眾與人處則譁，少與人處則悲。願公之適。」公曰：「寡人聞命矣。」築室不輟。

Gou Jian, King of Yue, once judged a lawsuit and wronged someone; he drew Longyuan and cut his own thigh until blood flowed to his foot, to punish himself, and his warriors were sure to die for him. So when a sage acts in small things, he can cover the great; examining the near, he can soothe the far. Sunshu Ao breached the waters of Qisi to irrigate the fields of Yulou, and King Zhuang knew he could be chancellor. Zi Fa distinguished labor and ease and made labor and ease equal, and Chu knew he could be commander of the army. These all take form from the small and yet communicate with the great principle. When a sage acts, he does not add further worry but only observes why things are so. Now ten thousand men tuning bells cannot match the pitch-pipes; if one truly gets someone who knows, one man is enough. The arguments of those who persuade are also like this. If one truly gets the method, many are not needed. A carriage can turn for a thousand li because the key lies in a three-inch linchpin. To urge a person and not be able to make him do it, to forbid a person and not be able to make him stop, is because the way taken is not the principle. Formerly the lord of Wei went to pay court to Wu, and the King of Wu imprisoned him and wanted to exile him to the sea. Persuaders, with caps and canopies, saw each other along the way, but could not stop it. The lord of Lu heard of it, took down the hanging bells and drums, and went to court wearing plain white. Zhongni came to see him and said: "Why does my lord look worried?" The lord of Lu said: "Among the feudal lords there are no kin, so I take the feudal lords as kin. Among the senior officials there is no party, so I take the senior officials as my party. Now the lord of Wei has paid court to the King of Wu, and the King of Wu imprisoned him and wants to exile him to the sea. Who would have thought that the lord of Wei, so benevolent and righteous, would meet this calamity! I want to spare him but cannot; what shall I do?" Zhongni said: "If you want to spare him, please send Zigong." The lord of Lu summoned Zigong and gave him the seal of a general, and Zigong declined: "Rank is no use in untying trouble; it lies in the way taken." He gathered himself and went, arrived in Wu, and saw the Grand Steward Pi. The Grand Steward Pi liked him very much and wanted to recommend him to the King. Zigong said: "If you cannot persuade the King, how can I rely on you?" The Grand Steward Pi said: "How do you know Pi cannot?" Zigong said: "When the lord of Wei came, half the people of Wei said it would be better to pay court to Jin, and half said it would be better to pay court to Wu. But the lord of Wei thought Wu could send his bones back, so he bound himself and came to receive the command. Now you accept the lord of Wei but imprison him and want to exile him to the sea, which rewards those who said to pay court to Jin and punishes those who said to pay court to Wu. Moreover when the lord of Wei came, the feudal lords all took him as an omen of the yarrow and tortoise. Now to pay court to Wu is not advantageous, so they will all shift their hearts to Jin. If you want to complete the work of a hegemon-king, is that not hard!" The Grand Steward Pi went in and reported to the King. The King gave an order to the hundred officials: "Within ten days, those who do not have the rites for the lord of Wei prepared will be put to death!" Zigong may be said to have known how to persuade. Duke Ai of Lu built a house that was too large, and Gongxuan Zi remonstrated: "If the house is large, when you are with many people it is noisy and when with few it is sad. I hope Your Grace will make it suitable." The Duke said: "I hear the command." But the building went on without stopping.

公宣子復見曰：「國小而室大，百姓聞之必怨吾君，諸侯聞之必輕吾國。」魯君曰：「聞命矣。」築室不輟。公宣子復見曰：「左昭而右穆，為大室以臨二先君之廟，得無害於子乎？」公乃令罷役除版而去之。魯君之慾為室誠矣，公宣子止之必矣，然三說而一聽者，其二者非其道也。夫臨河而釣，日入而不能得一鯈魚者，非江河魚不食也，所以餌之者非其欲也。及至良工執竿，投而擐唇吻者，能以其所欲而釣者也。夫物無不可奈何，有人無奈何。鉛之與丹，異類殊色，而可以為丹者，得其數也。故繁稱文辭，無益於說，審其所由而已矣。物類之相摩，近而異門戶者，眾而難識也。故或類之而非，或不類之而是；或若然而不然者，或不若然而然者。諺曰：「鳶墮腐鼠，而虞氏以亡。」何謂也？曰：虞氏，梁之大富人也。家充盈殷富，金錢無量，財貨無貲。升高樓，臨大路，設樂陳酒，積博其上。遊俠相隨而行樓下。博上者射朋張，中反兩而笑，飛鳶適墮其腐鼠而中游俠。遊俠相與言曰：「虞氏富樂之日久矣，而常有輕易人之志。吾不敢侵犯，而乃辱我以腐鼠。如此不報，無以立務於天下。請與公僇力一志，悉率徒屬，而必以滅其家。」此所謂類之而非者也。何謂非類而是？屈建告石乞曰：「白公勝將為亂。」石乞曰：「不然。白公勝卑身下士，不敢驕賢。其家無筦籥之信，關楗之固。大斗斛以出，輕斤兩以內。而乃論之，以不宜也。」屈建曰：「此乃所以反也。」居三年，白公勝果為亂，殺令尹子椒、司馬子期。此所謂弗類而是者也。何謂若然而不然？子發為上蔡令，民有罪當刑，獄斷論定，決於令尹前，子發喟然有悽愴之心。罪人已刑而不忘其恩。此其後，子發盤罪威王而出奔。刑者遂襲恩者，恩者逃之於城下之廬。追者至，踹足而怒曰：「子發視決吾罪而被吾刑，怨之憯於骨髓。

Gongxuan Zi came again and said: "The state is small and the house is large; when the people hear of it they will surely resent our lord, and when the feudal lords hear of it they will surely look down on our state." The lord of Lu said: "I hear the command." But the building went on without stopping. Gongxuan Zi came again and said: "On the left is the Zhao temple and on the right the Mu temple; if you build a large chamber facing the temples of the two former lords, can it fail to harm you?" The Duke then gave an order to stop the work and remove the rammed-earth frames and leave. The lord of Lu truly wanted to build the house, and Gongxuan Zi's wish to stop it was also firm, yet it took three times of saying for him to listen once; the two earlier times were not the right way. Fishing by a river, if by sunset one cannot catch even a small fish, it is not that the fish of the river will not eat, but that the bait used is not what they want. When a skilled fisherman takes the rod, the moment it is cast he hooks the lip, because he can fish with what they want. There is nothing in things that cannot be dealt with, though some people cannot deal with it. Lead and cinnabar are different in kind and color, yet they can become cinnabar, because one gets the method. So piling up elaborate wording does not help persuasion; just examine the way taken. Things of similar kind rub against each other, near but not of the same household, are many and hard to recognize. So some look like it but are not, some do not look like it but are; some look like this and so are not this, and some do not look like this yet are this. A proverb says: "A kite dropped a rotten rat and the Yu family was ruined by it." What does that mean? It says: the Yu family was a great rich family of Liang. Their house was full and prosperous, their money without measure and their goods beyond estimate. They climbed a high tower facing the main road, set out music and wine, and gambled above. Knights-errant went along beneath the tower. A man gambling above threw and hit, turned over two and laughed, and a flying kite happened to drop a rotten rat which hit one of the knights-errant. The knights-errant said to one another: "The Yu family has been rich and happy for a long time and often has a mind to look down on people. We did not dare offend them, yet they used a rotten rat to insult us. If we do not take revenge for this, we have nothing with which to make a name in the world. Let us join strength with one heart, lead all our followers, and surely wipe out their house." This is what is meant by looking like it but not being it. What is meant by not looking like it but being it? Qu Jian told Shi Qi: "Gongsun Sheng of Bai is about to rebel." Shi Qi said: "It is not so. Bai Gong Sheng lowers himself to treat scholars and does not dare be arrogant toward the worthy. His house has no trustworthy lock and key and no strong door bolt. He sends out grain with a large measure and takes in with light weights. You discuss him this way, which is not fitting." Qu Jian said: "This is exactly why he wants to rebel." After three years Bai Gong Sheng indeed rebelled and killed the Chancellor Zijiao and the Marshal Ziqi. This is what is meant by not looking like it but being it. What is meant by looking like this and so not being this? Zi Fa was magistrate of Shangcai, and there was a man who had a crime deserving punishment; the case had been decided, and he was sentenced before the Chancellor, and Zi Fa sighed with a sorrowful heart. The criminal, having already been punished, did not forget his kindness. Afterward Zi Fa fled from King Wei because of a crime. The man who had been punished then shielded the one who had shown kindness, and the one who had shown kindness fled to a house beneath the city. When the pursuers arrived, they stamped their feet in anger and said: "Zi Fa watched my crime be sentenced and had me punished, and my resentment and pain reach my bone marrow.

使我得其肉而食之，其知厭乎！」追者以為然而不索其內，果活子發。此所謂若然而不然者。何謂不然而若然者？昔越王句踐卑下吳王夫差，請身為臣，妻為妾，奉四時之祭祀，而入春秋之貢職，委社稷，效民力，隱居為蔽，而戰為鋒行，禮甚卑，辭甚服，其離叛之心遠矣，然而甲卒三千人以擒夫差於姑胥。此四策者，不可不審也。夫事之所以難知者，以其竄端匿跡，立私於公，倚邪於正，而以勝惑人之心者也。若使人之所懷於內者，與所見於外者，若合符節，則天下無亡國敗家矣。夫狐之捕雉也，必先卑體彌耳，以待其來也。雉見而信之，故可得而擒也。使狐瞋目植睹，見必殺之勢，雉亦知驚憚遠飛，以避其怒矣。夫人偽之相欺也，非直禽獸之詐計也，物類相似若然，而不可從外論者，眾而難識矣，是故不可不察也。

(He continued:) "If I could get his flesh to eat, how would I know contentment!" The pursuers thought it truly so and did not search inside the house, and so indeed saved Zi Fa. This is what is called looking like this and so not being this. What is meant by not being this but looking like this? Formerly Gou Jian, King of Yue, humbled himself before Fu Chai, King of Wu, and asked to be his subject himself and have his wife be a concubine, to offer sacrifices at the four seasons, deliver tribute in spring and autumn, hand over his altars of state and offer the people's strength; living in seclusion he would act as shield, in battle he would act as vanguard; the ritual was very humble and the words very submissive, and the heart of rebellion seemed very far; yet with three thousand armored soldiers at Gusu he captured Fu Chai. These four strategies must be carefully examined. Why things are hard to know is that they hide their clues and conceal their traces, set up the private within the public, lean on the crooked above the straight, and deceive people's hearts by victory. If what people hold in their hearts and what one sees outside matched like fitted tallies, the world would have no ruined states or families. When a fox catches a pheasant, it must first lower its body and let its ears droop and wait for it to come. The pheasant sees it and trusts it, and so can be caught. If the fox glared and looked upright, showing the posture of one who must kill, the pheasant would also know to be startled and fly far away to avoid its anger. People deceive each other with falsehood, not only the schemes of birds and beasts; things resemble each other like this, but cannot be judged from outside; they are many and hard to recognize, so one must examine them.

或曰：「無為者，寂然無聲，漠然不動，引之不來，推之不往。如此者，乃得道之像。」吾以為不然。嘗試問之矣：「若夫神農、堯、舜、禹、湯，可謂聖人乎？」有論者必不能廢。以五聖觀之，則莫得無為，明矣。古者，民茹草飲水，採樹木之實，食蠃蠬之肉。時多疾病毒傷之害，於是神農乃始教民播種五穀，相土地宜，燥濕肥墝高下，嘗百草之滋味，水泉之甘苦，令民知所闢就。當此之時，一日而遇七十毒。堯立孝慈仁愛，使民如子弟。西教沃民，東至黑齒，北撫幽都，南道交趾。放讙兜於崇山，竄三苗於三危，流共工於幽州，殛鯀於羽山。舜作室，築牆茨屋，闢地樹穀，令民皆知去巖穴，各有家室。南征三苗，道死蒼梧。禹沐浴霪雨，櫛扶風，決江疏河，鑿龍門，闢伊闕，修彭蠡之防，乘四載，隨山刊木，平治水土，定千八百國。湯夙興夜寐，以致聰明，輕賦薄斂，以寬民氓，布德施惠，以振困窮，吊死問疾，以養孤孀。百姓親附，政令流行，乃整兵鳴條，困夏南巢，譙以其過，放之曆山。此五聖者，天下之盛主，勞形盡慮，為民興利除害而不懈。奉一爵酒不知於色，挈一石之尊則白汗交流，又況贏天下之憂，而海內事者乎？其重於尊亦遠也！且夫聖人者，不恥身之賤，而愧道之不行；不憂命之短，而憂百姓之窮。是故禹之為水，以身解於陽盱之河。湯旱，以身禱於桑山之林。聖人憂民，如此其明也，而稱以「無為」，豈不悖哉！

Someone says: "Non-action is being silent and without sound, still and unmoving, so that when pulled it does not come and when pushed it does not go. Only that is the image of attaining the Way." I think it is not so. I once tried asking: "Can people like Shennong, Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang be called sages?" Those who discuss it will certainly not be able to discard them. If one looks at these five sages, none was able to be without action; this is plain. In ancient times the people ate grass and drank water, picked the fruit of trees and ate the flesh of snails and clams. At that time there was much harm from disease, poison and injury, so Shennong first taught the people to sow the five grains, observed what the land was suited for, dry or damp, fertile or poor, high or low, and tasted the flavors of the hundred herbs and the sweetness or bitterness of water springs, so that the people knew what to avoid and what to approach. At that time he met seventy poisonings in a single day. Yao set up filial piety, kindness and benevolence and made the people like sons and younger brothers. In the west he taught the Wo people, in the east he reached the Black-Toothed, in the north he soothed Youdu, and in the south he took the road to Jiaozhi. He banished Huandou to Mount Chong, drove the Three Miao to Sanwei, exiled Gong Gong to Youzhou, and executed Gun at Mount Yu. Shun built houses, built walls and thatched roofs, and opened land and sowed grain, so that the people all knew to leave caves and each had a home. In the south he campaigned against the Three Miao and died on the road to Cangwu. Yu bathed in long rain and used the fierce wind as his comb, breached the rivers and cleared the channels, cut through Longmen, opened Yique, repaired the dikes of Pengli, rode the four kinds of conveyance, cut trees along the mountains to mark the way, leveled the waters and the land, and settled eighteen hundred states. Tang rose early and slept late to exhaust his intelligence, lightened taxes and collected little to treat the people generously, spread virtue and gave kindness to relieve the poor, condoled with the dead and inquired after the sick to support orphans and widows. The people drew close and government orders were carried out, so he drilled troops at Mingtiao, trapped Xia at Nanchao, charged him with his faults and exiled him to Mount Li. These five sages were the glorious rulers of the world; they toiled in body and exhausted their thoughts, and did not tire in making benefit and removing harm for the people. Holding up a cup of wine one's face does not show it, but lifting a stone-sized vessel the sweat pours out; how much more to bear the world's worries and the affairs within the seas! Its weight is far more than that of a vessel! Moreover a sage is not ashamed of his own lowliness but ashamed that the Way is not practiced; he does not worry about a short life but worries that the people are poor. So when Yu controlled the floods, he absolved himself in the river at Yangxu. When Tang met drought, he prayed in his own person in the forest of Mount Sang. The sages worried about the people so clearly, yet they are called 'non-acting'; is that not perverse!

且古之立帝王者，非以奉養其欲也；聖人踐位者，非以逸樂其身也。為天下強掩弱，眾暴寡，詐欺愚，勇侵怯，懷知而不以相教，積財而不以相分，故立天子以齊一之。為一人聰明而不足以遍照海內，故立三公九卿以輔翼之。絕國殊俗、僻遠幽間之處，不能被德承澤，故立諸侯以教誨之。是以地無不任，時無不應，官無隱事，國無遺利。所以衣寒食饑，養老弱而息勞倦也。若以布衣徒步之人觀之，則伊尹負鼎而幹湯，呂望鼓刀而入周，百里奚轉鬻，管仲束縛，孔子無黔𥥍，墨子無暖席。是以聖人不高山，不廣河，蒙恥辱以幹世主，非以貪祿慕位，欲事起天下利，而除萬民之害。蓋聞傳書曰：「神農憔悴，堯瘦，舜黴黑，禹胼胝。」由此觀之，則聖人之憂勞百姓甚矣。故自天子以下至於庶人，四胑不動，思慮不用，事治求澹者，未之聞也。

Moreover in ancient times emperors and kings were established not to nourish their own desires, and sages took the seat not to enjoy ease for themselves. Because in the world the strong cover the weak, the many are cruel to the few, the deceitful cheat the foolish, and the brave encroach on the timid, those who have knowledge do not use it to teach each other, those who have wealth do not share it with each other; so a Son of Heaven was established to unify them. Because one person's intelligence is not enough to illuminate all within the seas, the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers were established to assist him. In remote states with different customs and in out-of-the-way and secluded places, virtue could not reach and favor could not be received, so feudal lords were established to instruct them. So there was no land not employed, no season without response, no hidden affair in the offices, and no benefit left out in the state. So they gave clothes to the cold and food to the hungry, nourished the old and weak and let the weary rest. If one looks at commoners in plain clothes who traveled on foot: Yi Yin carried a cauldron to seek employment from Tang, Lü Wang beat a knife and entered Zhou, Boli Xi was sold from place to place, Guan Zhong was bound, Confucius's chimney was never blackened, and Mozi's mat was never warm. So the sages did not think mountains high or rivers wide, but bore disgrace to seek employment from rulers of the age, not out of greed for salary or love of position, but wanting to do things, raise the benefit of the world, and remove the harm of the myriad people. I have heard from the transmitted books: "Shennong was haggard, Yao was thin, Shun was dark, and Yu had calluses on his hands and feet." From this it can be seen that the sages' worry and toil for the people was very great. So from the Son of Heaven down to commoners, never has it been heard that anyone's four limbs did not move and his thoughts were not used, yet affairs were in order and demands were met.

夫地勢，水東流，人必事焉，然後水潦得穀行。禾稼春生，人必加功焉，故五穀得遂長。聽其自流，待其自生，則鯀、禹之功不立，而後稷之智不用。若吾所謂無為者，私志不得入公道，嗜慾不得枉正術，循理而舉事，因資而立，權自然之勢，而曲故不得容者，事成而身弗伐，功立而名弗有，非謂其感而不應，攻而不動者。若夫以火熯井，以淮灌山，此用己而背自然，故謂之有為。若夫水之用舟，沙之用鳩，泥之用輴，山之用虆，夏瀆而冬陂，因高為田，因下為池，此非吾所謂為之。聖人之從事也，殊體而合於理，其所由異路而同歸，其存危定傾若一，志不忘於欲利人也。何以明之？昔者楚欲攻宋，墨子聞而悼之，自魯趨而十日十夜，足重趼而不休息，裂衣裳裹足，至於郢，見楚王。曰：「臣聞大王舉兵將攻宋，計必得宋而後攻之乎？亡其苦眾勞民，頓兵挫銳，負天下以不義之名，而不得咫尺之地，猶且攻之乎？」王曰：「必不得宋，又且為不義，曷為攻之！」墨子曰：「臣見大王之必傷義而不得宋。」王曰：「公輸，天下之巧士，作雲梯之械，設以攻宋，曷為弗取！」墨子曰：「令公輸設攻，臣請守之。」於是公輸般設攻宋之械，墨子設守宋之備，九攻而墨子九卻之，弗能入。於是乃偃兵，輟不攻宋。段干木辭祿而處家，魏文侯過其閭而軾之。其僕曰：「君何為軾？」文侯曰：「段干木在，是以軾。」其僕曰：「段干木布衣之士，君軾其閭，不已甚乎？」文侯曰：「段干木不趨勢利，懷君子之道，隱處窮巷，聲施千里，寡人敢勿軾乎！段干木光於德，寡人光於勢；段干木富於義，寡人富於財。勢不若德尊，財不若義高。干木雖以己易寡人不為。吾日悠慚於影，子何以輕之哉！

By the lay of the land, water flows east, but people must do work before flood water can follow the channel. Grain is born in spring, but people must tend it before the five grains can grow. If one left it to flow of itself and waited for it to grow of itself, then the achievements of Gun and Yu could not be established and the wisdom of Hou Ji could not be used. What I call non-action is that private will does not enter the public way, appetites and desires do not bend the right method, one carries out affairs following principle, establishes by what resources there are, weighs the natural tendency, does not admit clever deceit, does not boast of oneself when a task is done, and does not claim the name when merit is established; it does not mean that when stirred one does not respond or when attacked one does not move. To roast a well with fire or to irrigate a mountain with the Huai is to use oneself against nature, and is therefore called action. To use boats on water, dove carts on sand, sleds on mud, and baskets on mountains, to dig channels in summer and make ponds in winter, to make fields on the high and ponds on the low, is not what I call action. The sage's works differ in form yet accord with principle, the roads they take differ yet end in the same place, and in preserving what is in peril and settling what is overturned they are as one, their aim never forgetting to benefit people. What proves this? Formerly Chu wanted to attack Song, and when Mozi heard of it he was grieved, and traveled from Lu on foot for ten days and ten nights, his feet in layers of calluses and without rest, tearing his clothes to wrap his feet, and reached Ying and saw the king of Chu. He said: "I have heard that Your Majesty is raising troops to attack Song; do you calculate that you are sure to get Song and only then attack? Or would you toil the multitude and exhaust the people, blunt the army's edge, bear the name of unrighteousness before the world, and gain not a foot of land, and still attack?" The king said: "I surely cannot get Song, and would be doing something unrighteous besides; why attack!" Mozi said: "I see that Your Majesty will surely harm righteousness yet not get Song." The king said: "Gongshu is the cleverest craftsman in the world and has made cloud ladders; with these he will attack Song; why could I not get it!" Mozi said: "Let Gongshu set up the attack, and I ask to defend." So Gongshu Ban set up the instruments to attack Song, and Mozi set up the defenses of Song; nine times they attacked Mozi and nine times were repulsed, unable to enter. Only then did they stop the troops and not attack Song. Duanmu Gan declined a stipend and lived at home, and when Marquis Wen of Wei passed his lane he bowed over the carriage rail. His attendant said: "Why does my lord bow over the rail?" Marquis Wen said: "Duanmu Gan is here, so I bow." The attendant said: "Duanmu Gan is a commoner scholar; is it not excessive for my lord to bow to his lane?" Marquis Wen said: "Duanmu Gan does not attach himself to power and profit, holds the Way of the noble person and lives hidden in a poor lane, and his fame extends a thousand li; how dare I not bow! Duanmu Gan shines in virtue, and I shine in power; Duanmu Gan is rich in righteousness, and I am rich in wealth. Power is not as honored as virtue, and wealth is not as high as righteousness. Duanmu Gan would not exchange himself for me. Every day facing my shadow I am quietly ashamed; why do you look down on him!

」其後秦將起兵伐魏，司馬庾諫曰：「段干木賢者，其君禮之，天下莫不知，諸侯莫不聞，舉兵伐之，無乃妨於義乎！」於是秦乃偃兵，輟不攻魏。

(He continued:) " After this, Qin was about to raise troops to attack Wei, and Sima Yu remonstrated: "Duanmu Gan is a worthy; his ruler treats him with ritual courtesy, and there is no one in the world who does not know it, no feudal lord who has not heard of it; if we raise troops to attack, I fear it would harm righteousness!" So Qin stopped its troops and did not attack Wei.

夫墨子跌蹄而趨千里，以存楚、宋；段干木闔門不出，以安秦、魏。夫行與止也，其勢相反，而皆可以存國，此所謂異路而同歸者也。今夫救火者，汲水而趨之，或以甕瓴，或以盆盂，其方員銳橢不同，盛水各異，其於滅火鈞也。故秦、楚、燕、魏之歌也，異轉而皆樂；九夷八狄之哭也，殊聲而皆悲；一也。夫歌者，樂之徵也；哭者，悲之效也。憤於中則應於外，故在所以感。夫聖人之心，日夜不忘於欲利人，其澤之所及者，效亦大矣。

Mozi hurried with sore feet a thousand li to preserve Chu and Song; Duanmu Gan shut his door and did not go out to secure Qin and Wei. Acting and resting were opposite in tendency, yet both could preserve a state; this is what is meant by roads that differ but end in the same place. Now those who put out a fire run carrying water, some with jars and some with basins and bowls; square, round, pointed and oval differ, and the water they hold differs, but in extinguishing the fire they are equal. So the songs of Qin, Chu, Yan and Wei differ in melody but are all joyful; the weeping of the nine Yi and eight Di differs in sound but is all sad; they are one. Singing is the proof of joy, and weeping is the proof of sorrow. What is pent up within responds outside, so it rests on what is felt. The mind of the sage, day and night, never forgets to benefit people, and where his kindness reaches, its effect too is great.

世俗廢衰，而非學者多。「人性各有所修短，若魚之躍，若鵲之駁，此自然者，不可損益。」吾以為不然。夫魚者躍，鵲者駁也，猶人馬之為人馬，筋骨形體，所受於天，不可變。以此論之，則不類矣。夫馬之為草駒之時，跳躍揚蹄，翹尾而走，人不能制，齧咋足以噆肌碎骨，蹶蹄足以破顱陷匈；及至圉人擾之，良禦教之，掩以衡扼，連以轡銜，則雖歷險超塹弗敢辭。故其形之為馬，馬不可化；其可駕禦，教之所為也。馬，聾蟲也，而可以通氣志，猶待教而成，又況人乎！且夫身正性善，發憤而成仁，帽憑而為義，性命可說，不待學問而合於道者，堯、舜、文王也；沉湎耽荒，不可教以道，不可喻以德，嚴父弗能正，賢師不能化者，丹朱、商均也。曼頰皓齒，形誇骨佳，不待脂粉芳澤而性可說者，西施、陽文也；啳𦝢哆噅，籧蒢戚施，雖粉白黛黑弗能為美者，嫫母、仳倠也。夫上不及堯、舜，下不及商均，美不及西施，惡不若嫫母，此教訓之所諭也，而芳澤之所施。且子有弒父者，然而天下莫疏其子，何也？愛父者眾也。儒有邪辟者，而先王之道不廢，何也？其行之者多也。今以為學者之有過而非學者，則是以一飽之故，絕穀不食，以一蹪之難，輟足不行，惑也。

As the age declines, many criticize learning. "The nature of each person has its strengths and shortcomings, like a fish leaping or a magpie's mottled coat; this is natural and cannot be added to or reduced." I think it is not so. A fish's leaping and a magpie's mottling are like people and horses being people and horses: sinew, bone and form are received from Heaven and cannot be changed. To argue from this is not analogous. When a horse is still a colt, it leaps and tosses its hooves and runs with its tail up; people cannot restrain it; its bite is enough to tear flesh and crush bone, its kick enough to split a skull and cave in a chest; but once the groom trains it and a good driver teaches it, with the yoke fitted and reins and bit attached, it does not refuse to go through dangerous passes and over moats. So its form as a horse cannot change, but that it can be driven is accomplished by teaching. A horse is an unknowing creature, yet it can be brought into communion with the will, and still it needs teaching to be completed; how much more people! Moreover, those whose person is upright and nature good, who become humane from the urge and righteous from fervor, whose nature and life can be pleased and who accord with the Way without waiting for learning, are Yao, Shun and King Wen; those sunk in indulgence and idleness, who cannot be taught by the Way or enlightened by virtue, whom a stern father cannot set right and a worthy teacher cannot transform, are Danzhu and Shangjun. Those with soft cheeks and white teeth, fine form and good bones, whose nature can be pleasing without waiting for powder and perfume, are Xi Shi and Yang Wen; those with crooked mouth and gaping lips, chicken-breast and hunchback, who even with white powder and black eyebrow paint cannot become beautiful, are Mo Mu and Chi Ju. Above, one cannot match Yao and Shun; below, one is not like Shangjun; in beauty one cannot match Xi Shi; in ugliness one is not like Mo Mu; this is what teaching and instruction can enlighten and what perfume and powder can be applied to. Besides, there are sons who kill their fathers, yet no one in the world keeps his own son at a distance; why? Because those who love their fathers are many. There are Confucians who are devious, yet the Way of the former kings is not abandoned; why? Because those who practice it are many. Now to criticize learning because some scholars make mistakes is to stop eating grain because one once ate too much, or to stop walking because one once stumbled; it is delusion.

今有良馬，不待策錣而行，駑馬，雖兩錣之不能進，為此不用策錣而禦，則愚矣。夫怯夫操利劍，擊則不能斷，刺則不能入，及至勇武攘卷一搗，則摺肋傷幹，為此棄幹將、鏌邪而以手戰，則悖矣。所謂言者，齊於眾而同於俗。今不稱九天之頂，則言黃泉之底，是兩末之端議，何可以公論乎！夫橘柚冬生，而人曰冬死，死者眾；薺麥夏死，人曰夏生，生者眾。江、河之回曲，亦時有南北者，而人謂江、河東流；攝提鎮星日月東行，而人謂星辰日月西移者；以大氐為本。胡人有知利者，而人謂之駤；越人有重遲者，而人謂之訬；以多者名之。若夫堯眉八彩，九竅通洞，而公正無私，一言而萬民齊；舜二瞳子，是謂重明，作事成法，出言成章；禹耳參漏，是謂大通，興利除害，疏河決江；文王四乳，是謂大仁，天下所歸，百姓所親；皋陶馬喙，是謂至信，決獄明白，察於人情；禹生於石；契生於卵；史皇產而能書；羿左臂修而善射。若此九賢者，千歲而一齣，猶繼踵而生。今無五聖之天奉，四俊之才難，欲棄學而循性，是謂猶釋船欲蹍水也。

Now there is a fine horse that goes without needing the whip, and a nag that cannot advance even with two lashes of the whip; so to say one need not use the whip to drive them is foolish. A coward holding a sharp sword cannot cut with a strike and cannot pierce with a thrust, but when a brave man rolls up his sleeves and thumps, he breaks ribs and wounds the trunk; so to cast aside Ganjiang and Moye and fight with the hands is perverse. What are called discussions are to be in step with the multitude and the same as custom. Now if one does not speak of the top of the nine heavens, one speaks of the bottom of the Yellow Springs; these are arguments from two extremes; how can they be taken as public judgment! Oranges and pomelos grow in winter yet people say they die in winter, because more die; shepherd's purse and wheat die in summer yet people say they grow in summer, because more grow. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers bend and sometimes run north or south, yet people say the Yangtze and Yellow River flow east; the planets Sheti and Zhen, the sun and the moon move eastward, yet people say the stars, sun and moon shift west; this takes the general tendency as the basis. Among the northern barbarians some are clever, yet people call them dull; among the southern Yue some are slow and heavy, yet people call them quick; this names things by the majority. Yao's eyebrows had eight colors, his nine orifices were clear, he was fair and without selfishness, and one word of his unified the myriad people; Shun had two pupils, called double brightness, and his deeds became law and his words became statutes; Yu's ear had three holes, called great penetration, and he promoted benefit and removed harm, dredging rivers and opening the Yangtze; King Wen had four nipples, called great humaneness, and the world turned to him and the hundred clans were close to him; Gao Yao had a horse's mouth, called utmost trust, and he decided cases clearly and was discerning about human feelings; Yu was born from a stone; Xie was born from an egg; Shi Huang could write from birth; Yi had a long left arm and was good at archery. Of these nine worthies, one appears once in a thousand years, and it is as though they were born heel to heel. Now we lack the Heaven-given gift of the five sages and the talent of the four brilliant ones is hard to come by; to want to discard learning and follow nature is like letting go of the boat and wanting to tread water.

夫純鉤、魚腸之始下型，擊則不能斷，刺則不能入，及加之以砥礪，摩其鋒鍔，則水斷龍舟，陸剸犀甲。明鏡之始下型，矇然未見形容，及其粉以玄錫，摩以白旃，鬢眉微豪，可得而察。夫學，亦人之砥錫也，而謂學無益者，所以論之過。知者之所短，不若愚者之所修；賢者之所不足，不若眾人之有餘。何以知其然？夫宋畫吳冶，刻刑鏤法，亂修曲出，其為微妙，堯、舜之聖不能及。蔡之幼女，衛之稚質，梱纂組，雜奇彩，抑墨質，揚赤文，禹、湯之智不能逮。夫天之所覆，地之所載，包於六合之內，托於宇宙之間，陰陽之所生，血氣之精，含牙戴角，前爪後距，奮翼攫肆，蚑行蟯動之蟲，喜而合，怒而鬥，見利而就，避害而去，其情一也。雖所好惡，其與人無以異。然其爪牙雖利，筋骨雖強，不免制於人者，知不能相通，才力不能相一也。各有其自然之勢，無稟受於外，故力竭功沮。

When Chunjun and Yuchang swords are first cast in the mold, a strike cannot cut and a thrust cannot pierce, but when whetstone is added and the edge is ground, they can cut a dragon boat on water and slice through rhinoceros armor on land. When a bright mirror is first cast in the mold, it is dim and shows no form, but when it is rubbed with dark tin powder and polished with white felt, the hairs of the temples and eyebrows can be examined. Learning too is a person's whetstone and tin powder, yet to say learning has no benefit is to criticize its fault. What the wise lack in is less than what the foolish are good at, and what the worthy lack is less than what the multitude has to spare. How do we know it is so? The painters of Song and the smelters of Wu, who carve molds and engrave forms, bring out intricate, turning designs, and their subtlety could not be reached even by the sagacity of Yao and Shun. The young girls of Cai and the maidens of Wei weave and braid, mixing rare colors, pressing down the black ground and raising the red pattern, and the wisdom of Yu and Tang could not catch up with them. What Heaven covers, Earth carries, what is enclosed within the six directions and carried between heaven and earth, produced by yin and yang, the essence of blood and breath, creatures that hold teeth and wear horns, with front claws and rear spurs, that beat wings and seize prey, that crawl and wriggle: when pleased they join, when angry they fight, on seeing profit they approach, on avoiding harm they depart, and their feeling is one. Though they like and dislike, they are no different from humans. But although their claws and teeth are sharp and their sinews and bones strong, they cannot avoid being controlled by humans, because their intelligence cannot communicate and their strength and talent cannot be united. Each has its natural condition and does not receive from outside, so strength is spent and accomplishment fails.

夫雁順風，以愛氣力，銜蘆而翔，以備矰弋。螘知為垤，獾貉為曲穴，虎豹有茂草，野彘有艽莦，槎櫛堀虛，連比以像宮室，陰以防雨，景以蔽日。此亦鳥獸之所以知求合於其所利。今使人生於闢陋之國，長於窮櫩漏室之下，長無兄弟，少無父母，目未嘗見禮節，耳未嘗聞先古，獨守專室而不出門，使其性雖不愚，然其知者必寡矣。昔者，蒼頡作書，容成造曆，胡曹為衣，后稷耕稼，儀狄作酒，奚仲為車，此六人者，皆有神明之道，聖智之跡，故人作一事而遺後世，非能一人而獨兼有之。各悉其知，貴其所欲達，遂為天下備。今使六子者易事，而明弗能見者何？萬物至眾，而知不足以奄之。周室以後，無六子之賢，而皆修其業；當世之人，無一人之才，而知其六賢之道者何？教順施續，而知能流通。由此觀之，學不可已，明矣！

Wild geese follow the wind to conserve their strength and fly holding reeds in their beaks to guard against arrows with strings. Ants know how to build mounds, badgers and raccoon dogs make winding burrows, tigers and leopards have thick grass, wild boars have wild grass, and they dig crisscross tunnels connected like palaces, where the shade is used to keep off rain and shadows used to screen the sun. This too is how birds and beasts know to seek out what benefits them. Now suppose a person were born in a remote and rude state, grew up under a poor eave and leaking room, grew up with no brothers and in youth had no parents, whose eyes had never seen ritual and whose ears had never heard the ancients, and who guarded a single room alone and never went out; though his nature is not stupid, what he knows must be little. Formerly Cang Jie made writing, Rong Cheng made the calendar, Hu Cao made clothing, Hou Ji farmed, Yi Di made wine, and Xi Zhong made carts; these six all had the Way of spiritual clarity and the traces of sagely wisdom, so a person does one thing and leaves it to later ages; it is not that one person alone can hold everything. Each exhausts his knowledge and values what he wishes to master, and so the world's equipment is completed. Now if these six were made to exchange their tasks, even with clear sight they could not see; why? The myriad things are very many, and knowledge is not enough to cover them. After the Zhou house, there were none of the worthiness of the six, yet all cultivated their work; people of the present age do not have the talent of one person, yet know the Way of the six worthies; why? Teaching is passed on and carried forward, and knowledge and ability flow through. From this it appears that learning cannot be stopped; this is clear!

今夫盲者目不能別晝夜，分白黑，然而搏琴撫弦，參彈複徽，攫援摽拂，手若蔑蒙，不失一弦。使未嘗鼓瑟者，雖有離朱之明，攫掇之捷，猶不能屈伸其指。何則？服習積貫之所致。故弓待檠而後能調，劍待砥而後能利。玉堅無敵，鏤以為獸，首尾成形，礛諸之功。木直中繩，揉以為輪，其曲中規，檃括之力。唐碧堅忍之類，猶可刻鏤，揉以成器用，又況心意乎！且夫精神滑淖纖微，倏忽變化，與物推移，雲蒸風行，在所設施。君子有能精搖摩監，砥礪其才，自試神明，覽物之博，通物之壅，觀始卒之端，見無外之境，以逍遙仿佯於塵埃之外，超然獨立，卓然離世，此聖人之所以遊心。若此而不能，間居靜思，鼓琴讀書，追觀上古及賢大夫，學問講辯，日以自娛，蘇援世事，分白黑利害，籌策得失，以觀禍福，設儀立度，可以為法則，窮道本末，究事之情，立是廢非，明示後人，死有遺業，生有榮名。如此者，人才之所能逮。然而莫能至焉者，偷慢懈惰，多不暇日之故。夫瘠地之民多有心力者，勞也；沃地之民多不才者，饒也。由此觀之，知人無務，不若愚而好學。自人君公卿至於庶人，不自強而功成者，天下未之有也。《詩》云：「日就月將，學有緝熙於光明。」此之謂也。名可務立，功可強成，故君子積志委正，以趣明師，勵節亢高，以絕世俗。

Now a blind person's eyes cannot tell day from night or distinguish white from black, yet plucking the zither and stroking the strings, playing in multiple parts and repeating the markers, snatching, pulling, lifting and brushing, his hands are like flying dust and mist, and he does not miss a single string. If one who has never played the zither were made to try, even with Li Zhu's clarity or the speed of a fast grabber, he could not bend and stretch his fingers properly. Why? It is the result of habituation and accumulated practice. So a bow must wait for the frame to be adjusted, and a sword must wait for the whetstone to become sharp. Jade is hard and invincible, yet when carved into a beast with head and tail formed, it is the work of the grinding stone. Wood that is straight enough to fit the cord can be bent into a wheel and curved to fit the compass by the force of the straightening frame. Even hard things like tang and bi stone can be carved and bent into utensils, how much more the mind! Moreover spirit is slippery, subtle and fine, changing suddenly and shifting with things, steaming like clouds and moving like wind, depending on how it is applied. If the noble person can refine his sharpness and polish his mirror, whet his talent, test his own spirit, view the breadth of things, penetrate the blockages of things, observe the beginning and end, see the realm that has no outside, to roam and wander beyond the dust, standing apart and aloof, this is where the sage lets his mind roam. If one still cannot do this, then in leisure he may think quietly, play the zither and read, trace the ancients up to the worthy grand masters, study and discuss and debate, amusing himself every day, put worldly affairs in order, distinguish black and white and benefit and harm, calculate gain and loss to observe blessing and misfortune, set up norms and standards that can serve as rules, exhaust the root and branch of the Way, fully examine the feelings in affairs, establish what is right and abolish what is wrong, and plainly show it to later people, so that in death he leaves a legacy and in life has glorious fame. This is what people of talent can reach. Yet no one reaches it, because of idleness and laziness, and mostly because they have no spare days. The people of poor land often have strength of mind, because of toil; the people of fertile land are often untalented, because of abundance. From this it appears that a wise person without effort is not as good as a fool who loves learning. From rulers and ministers to commoners, there has never been one in the world who succeeded without exerting himself. The Odes say: "Day by day I advance, month by month I go forward, and learning gains continuous brilliance." This is what is meant. A name can be set up by striving and merit can be accomplished by exertion, so the noble person accumulates resolve and entrusts it to rectitude, goes toward a bright teacher, and spurs his integrity to lofty heights, to be cut off from the vulgar world.

何以明之？昔者南榮疇恥聖道之獨亡於己，身淬霜露，敕蹻趹，跋涉山川，冒蒙荊棘，百舍重跰，不敢休息，南見老聃。受教一言，精神曉泠，純聞條達，欣然七日不食，如饗太牢，是以明照四海，名施後世，達略天地，察分秋豪，稱譽葉語，至今不休。此所謂名可強立者。吳與楚戰，莫囂大心撫其禦之手曰：「今日距強敵，犯白刃，蒙矢石，戰而身死，卒勝民治，全我社稷，可以庶幾乎？」遂入不返，決腹斷頭，不旋踵運軌而死。申包胥竭筋力以赴嚴敵，伏屍流血，不過一卒之才，不如約身卑辭，求於諸侯。於是乃贏糧跣走，跋涉穀行，上峭山，赴深溪，遊川水，犯津關，躐蒙籠，蹶沙石，蹠達膝曾繭重胝，七日七夜，至於秦庭。鶴跱而不食，晝吟宵哭，面若死灰，顏色黴墨，涕液交集，以見秦王。曰：「吳為封豨修蛇，蠶食上國，虐始於楚。寡君失社稷，越在草茅，百姓離散，夫婦男女，不遑啟處，使下臣告急。」秦王乃發車千乘，步卒七萬，屬之子虎，逾塞而東，擊吳濁水之上，果大破之，以存楚國。烈藏廟堂，著於憲法。此功之可強成者也。夫七尺之形，心知憂愁勞苦，膚知疾痛寒暑，人情一也。聖人知時之難得，務可趣也，苦身勞形，焦心怖肝，不避煩難，不違危殆。蓋聞子發之戰，進如激矢，合如雷電，解如風雨，員之中規，方之中矩，破敵陷陳，莫能壅禦，澤戰必克，攻城必下。彼非輕身而樂死，務在於前，遺利於後，故名立而不墮。此身強而成功者也。是故田者不強，囷倉不盈；官禦不厲，心意不精；將相不強，功烈不成；侯王懈惰，後世無名。《詩》云：「我馬唯騏，六轡如絲。載馳載驅，周爰諮謨。」以言人之有所務也。

What proves it? Formerly Nanrong Chou, ashamed that the sage Way was lost in himself alone, bore frost and dew on his body, tied his sandals and ran, crossed mountains and rivers and braved thorns, traveled a hundred stages with layered calluses and dared not rest, and went south to see Laozi. He received one sentence of instruction, and his spirit became clear, cool and bright, pure and unobstructed, and he went seven days happily without eating, as though enjoying the grand sacrifice; therefore his brilliance lit the four seas, his name extended to later ages, he reached through heaven and earth, discerned the tip of an autumn hair, and the words of praise passed down have not stopped to this day. This is what is meant by a name that can be set up by effort. When Wu fought Chu, Mo'ao Daxin took his charioteer's hand and said: "Today, resisting a strong enemy, braving white blades and covered by arrows and stones, I will die in battle; if in the end we win and the people are governed and my altars are preserved, would that be about enough?" He went in and did not return, cutting open his belly and severing his head, dying without turning his heels or turning his chariot track. Shen Baoxu exhausted his strength to rush to a strict enemy, but lying corpses and flowing blood amount only to the talent of a soldier; it is better to restrain oneself and speak humbly to ask help from the feudal lords. So he carried provisions and ran barefoot, crossed streams and valleys, climbed steep mountains, plunged into deep gorges, swam rivers, braved fords and passes, trod through thickets and stumbled on sand and stones, with his soles to his knees layered with calluses, for seven days and nights, until he reached the Qin court. He stood like a crane without eating, chanting by day and weeping by night, with a face like dead ashes and a dark complexion, tears flowing together, and went to see the king of Qin. He said: "Wu is like a great boar and a long snake, eating up the central states like silkworms, and its cruelty began with Chu. My ruler has lost his altars and fled to the grass and thatch, the hundred clans are scattered, and husbands and wives, men and women have no time to settle; he sent this humble servant to report the emergency." The king of Qin then sent a thousand chariots and seventy thousand infantry and gave them to Zi Hu, who crossed the border eastward and struck Wu on the Zhuo River, and indeed greatly defeated them and preserved the state of Chu. The merit was stored in the temple and written into the statutes. This is merit that can be accomplished by effort. A body of seven feet, whose mind knows worry and toil and whose skin knows pain and cold and heat; human feeling is one. The sage knows that the time is hard to find and that affairs can be pursued; he toils his body and exhausts his form, scorches his heart and frightens his liver, does not avoid trouble and does not avoid danger. I hear that when Zi Fa fought, his advance was like a sharp arrow, his joining like thunder and lightning, his dispersal like wind and rain, round formations fit the compass and square formations fit the square, he broke the enemy and breached formations and none could stop him; in marsh battles he always won and in assaults on cities he always took them. He was not one who was light about his life and glad to die, but one who strove to be first and left the profit to those behind, so his name was established and did not fall. This is accomplishment by one's own exertion. So if farmers are not strenuous, the granaries are not full; if officials and drivers are not honed, their minds are not refined; if generals and chancellors are not strenuous, their achievements are not completed; if lords and kings are lazy, they have no name in later ages. The Odes say: "My horse is a fine bay, the six reins like silk threads. Galloping and driving, consulting and planning everywhere." This says that people have something they strive for.

通於物者，不可驚以怪；喻於道者，不可動以奇；察於辭者，不可耀以名；審於形者，不可遯以狀。世俗之人，多尊古而賤今，故為道者必托之於神農、黃帝而後能入說。亂世暗主，高遠其所從來，因而貴之。為學者蔽於論而尊其所聞，相與危坐而稱之，正領而誦之。此見是非之分不明。夫無規矩，雖奚仲不能以定方圓；無準繩，雖魯般不能定曲直。是故鍾子期死而伯牙絕弦破琴，知世莫賞也；惠施死而莊子寢說言，見世莫可為語者也。夫項託七歲為孔子師，孔子有以聽其言也。以年之少，為閭丈人說，救敲不給，何道之能明也？

One who understands things cannot be startled by the strange; one who is enlightened about the Way cannot be moved by the marvelous; one who examines words cannot be dazzled by names; one who scrutinizes forms cannot be evaded by appearances. People of the world mostly honor the ancient and despise the present, so those who speak of the Way must rely on Shennong and the Yellow Emperor before people will listen. Disordered ages and dim lords make their sources sound high and far off and so value them. Students are obscured by debates and honor what they have heard, sitting upright and reciting to each other with straightened collars. This shows that they do not see the distinction between right and wrong. Without the compass and square, even Xi Zhong could not fix round and square; without the plumb line, even Lu Ban could not fix crooked and straight. So when Zhong Ziqi died, Bo Ya cut his strings and smashed his zither, knowing that no one in the world would appreciate it; when Hui Shi died, Zhuangzi stopped speaking, seeing that no one in the world was left to talk with him. Xiang Tuo at seven was Confucius's teacher, and Confucius had reason to listen to his words. If one uses youth as a reason to tell it to old men in the lanes, rescuing them by beating would not be in time; what Way can be made clear?

昔者，謝子見於秦惠王，惠王說之，以問唐姑梁，唐姑梁曰：「謝子，山東辯士，固權說以取少主。」惠王因藏怒而待之。後日複見，逆而弗聽也。非其說異也，所以聽者易。夫以徵為羽，非弦之罪；以苦為甘，非味之過。楚國有烹猴而召其鄰人，以為狗羹也，而甘之。後聞其猴也，據地而吐之，盡寫其食。此未始知味者也。邯鄲師有出新曲者，託之李奇，諸人皆爭學之。後知其非也，而皆棄其曲，此未始知音者也。鄙人有得玉璞者，喜其狀，以為寶而藏之。以示人，人以為石也，因而棄之。此未始知玉者也。故有符於中，則貴是而同今古；無以聽其說，則所從來者遠而貴之耳。此和氏之所以泣血於荊山之下。

Formerly Xie Zi was admitted to see King Hui of Qin, and King Hui was pleased with him and asked Tang Gu Liang about him. Tang Gu Liang said: "Xie Zi is a persuader from east of the mountains, who relies on expedient arguments to please a young ruler." King Hui then waited for him with hidden anger. When he saw him again another day, he went against him and did not listen. It was not that what he said was different; what was used for listening had changed. Taking the zhi note for the yu note is not the fault of the string; taking bitter for sweet is not the fault of the taste. In Chu there was one who cooked a monkey and invited his neighbor, who thought it was dog stew and found it sweet and delicious. Later he heard it was monkey, and lay on the ground and vomited, and discharged everything he had eaten. This is a person who had not known the taste. In Handan a music master composed a new tune, and attributed it to Li Qi, and everyone competed to learn it. Later when they learned it was not his, they all abandoned the tune; these are people who did not know music. A rustic once obtained a piece of rough jade and, liking its shape, thought it a treasure and hid it away. When he showed it to others, they thought it a stone, and so he threw it away. This is a person who did not know jade. So when there is a response within oneself, one values what is correct and sees present and ancient as the same; when one has nothing by which to hear the argument, one takes what comes from afar as precious. This is why Mr. He wept blood beneath Mount Jing.

今劍或絕側羸文，齧缺卷銋，而稱以頂襄之劍，則貴人爭帶之；琴或撥刺枉橈，闊解漏越，而稱為楚莊之琴，側室爭鼓之。苗山之鋋，羊頭之銷，雖水斷龍舟，陸剸兕甲，莫之服帶。山桐之琴，澗梓之腹，雖鳴廉修營，唐牙莫之鼓也。通人則不然。服劍者期於銛利，而不期於墨陽、莫邪；乘馬者期於千里，而不期於驊騮、綠耳；鼓琴者期於鳴廉修營，而不期於濫肋、號鍾；誦《詩》、《書》者期於通道略物，而不期於《洪範》、《商頌》。聖人見是非，若白黑之於目辨，清濁之於耳聽。眾人則不然。中無主以受之，譬若遺腹子之上隴，以禮哭泣之，而無所歸心。故夫孿子之相似者，唯其母能知之；玉石之相類者，唯良工能識之；書傳之微者，惟聖人能論之。今取新聖人書，名之孔、墨，則弟子句指而受者必眾矣。故美人者，非必西施之種；通士者，不必孔、墨之類。曉然意有所通於物，故作書以喻意，以為知者也。誠得清明之士，執玄鑒於心，照物明白，不為古今易意，攄書明指以示之，雖闔棺亦不恨矣。

Now there are swords whose side is broken, whose grain is flawed, whose edge is chipped and curled, yet called the sword of Xiang Xiang, and nobles compete to wear it; there are zithers whose pegs are bent and crooked, whose fittings are loose and leaking, yet called the zither of Zhuang of Chu, and concubines compete to play it. The spear of Miaoshan and the dagger head of Yangtou, even if they could cut a dragon boat on water and slice rhinoceros armor on land, no one would wear them. The mountain paulownia zither and gorge catalpa belly, even if they sounded pure and rich, Shi Kuang and Bo Ya would not play them. A person of understanding is not like this. In carrying a sword he hopes it is sharp, not that it be Moyang or Moye; in riding a horse he hopes it goes a thousand li, not that it be Hualiu or Lu'er; in playing the zither he hopes it sounds pure and rich, not that it be Lanle or Haozhong; in reciting the Odes and Documents he hopes to penetrate the Way and survey things, not that it be the Hongfan or the Hymns of Shang. The sage sees right and wrong as white and black are distinguished by the eyes and clear and muddy by the ear. The multitude is not like this. Having no master within to receive it, they are like a posthumous son going to his father's grave, weeping according to ritual but with no heart to return to. So twins resemble each other, and only their mother can tell them apart; jade and stone are alike, and only a good craftsman can distinguish them; the subtlety of books and traditions can only be discussed by the sage. Now take the books of new sages, named Kong and Mo, and there are surely many disciples who point to every phrase and accept it. So a beauty is not necessarily of the Xi Shi kind; a person of penetration is not necessarily of the Kong and Mo kind. One whose mind clearly penetrates things writes books to convey meaning for those who will understand. A scholar who truly has clarity, whose heart holds a dark mirror and who sees things plainly, and does not change his mind for ancient or modern, when the book's meaning is unrolled for him, would have no regret even when the coffin lid is closed.

昔晉平公令官為鍾。鍾成，而示師曠。師曠曰：「鍾音不調。」平公曰：「寡人以示工，工皆以為調。而以為不調，何也？」師曠曰：「使後世無知音者則已，若有知音者，必知鍾之不調。」故師曠之慾善調鍾也，以為後之有知音者也。三代與我同行，五伯與我齊智，彼獨有聖智之實，我曾無有閭裡之聞，窮巷之知者何？彼並身而立節，我誕謾而悠忽。今夫毛嬙、西施，天下之美人，若使之銜腐鼠，蒙蝟皮，衣豹裘，帶死蛇，則布衣韋帶之人過者，莫不左右睥睨而掩鼻。嘗試使之施芳澤，正娥眉，設笄珥，衣阿錫，曳齊紈，粉白黛黑，佩玉環，揄步，雜芝若，籠蒙目視，冶由笑，目流眺，口曾撓，奇牙出，𩉇酺搖，則雖王公大人，有嚴志頡頏之行者，無不憚悇癢心而悅其色矣。今以中人之才，蒙愚惑之智，被汙辱之行，無本業所修，方術所務，焉得無有睥面掩鼻之容哉！

Formerly Duke Ping of Jin had his officials make a bell. When the bell was finished, he showed it to Shi Kuang. Shi Kuang said: "The bell's tone is not in tune." Duke Ping said: "I showed it to the craftsmen, and all thought it in tune; yet you think it not in tune; why?" Shi Kuang said: "If later ages had no one who knew tones, that would be that; but if there is one who knows tones, he will surely know the bell is not in tune." So Shi Kuang wished to tune the bell well for the sake of the later person who would know tones. The Three Dynasties walked with me, the Five Hegemons matched my wisdom, and they alone had the reality of sagely wisdom, while I have not even the reputation of a village lane or the understanding of a poor alley; why? They set their persons side by side with integrity, while I was careless and drifting. Now Mao Qiang and Xi Shi are the beauties of the world, but if they were made to hold a rotten mouse in their mouths, cover themselves with hedgehog skin, wear leopard fur and carry a dead snake, men in plain cloth and leather belts passing by would all look askance and hold their noses. Now try having them apply fragrance and ointment, shape their moth eyebrows, wear hairpins and earrings, dress in fine silk and trail Qi gauze, with white powder and black eyebrow paint, wear jade rings, move with swaying steps, mingled with iris and orchids, glance faintly, smile charmingly, with a sweeping gaze and a twitching mouth, showing rare teeth and dimples shaking, even kings, dukes and great men with stern aims and lofty conduct would all be moved in heart and itch and be pleased by her looks. Now if someone with the talent of an average person, covered with the knowledge of the deluded and clothed in disgraceful conduct, has no basic occupation to cultivate and no techniques to pursue, how could he lack the appearance of those who look askance and hold their noses!

今鼓舞者，繞身若環，曾撓摩地，扶旋猗那，動容轉曲，便媚擬神。身若秋藥被風，發若結旌，騁馳若騖；木熙者，舉梧檟，據句枉，蝯自縱，好茂葉，龍夭矯，燕枝拘，援豐條，舞扶疏，龍從鳥集，搏援攫肆，蔑蒙踴躍。且夫觀者莫不為之損心酸足，彼乃始徐行微笑，被衣修擢。夫鼓舞者非柔縱，而木熙者非眇勁，淹浸漬漸摩使然也。是故生木之長，莫見其益，有時而修；砥礪靡堅，莫見其損，有時而薄。藜藿之生，蠕蠕然日加數寸，不可以為櫨棟；楩楠豫章之生也，七年而後知，故可以為棺舟。夫事有易成者名小，難成者功大。君子修美，雖未有利，福將在後至。故《詩》云：「日就月將，學有緝熙於光明。」此之謂也。

Now the drum dancers whirl around the body like rings, with their sinews touching the ground, twisting, turning and swaying, moving their expressions and turning in curves, charming like spirits. Their bodies are like autumn grass in wind, their hair like a knotted banner, and their gallop like a racing horse; the puppet players raise the paulownia and catalpa puppets and lean on bends, like monkeys letting themselves go, delighting in dense leaves, like dragons undulating, like swallows constrained on branches, clinging to rich boughs, dancing with spread canopy, dragons following and birds gathering, grappling and seizing, like dust and mist leaping. Moreover none of the spectators fails to be moved to sadness and numb of foot; yet when they first began they walked slowly with a smile and wore their clothes with care. The drum dancers were not born supple and the puppet players were not born slight and strong; it is the effect of soaking and gradual rubbing. So a growing tree does not appear to increase, but at times it has grown; whetting and grinding wears down the hard, yet it is not seen to diminish, but at times it has become thin. Goosefoot and bean leaves grow, wriggling a few inches in a day, but cannot be used as pillars or beams; the pian, nan and yuzhang trees grow, and only after seven years are they known, so they can be made into coffins and boats. In affairs, what is easily accomplished has a small name, and what is hard to accomplish has great merit. The noble person cultivates the good, and though there is no profit yet, blessing will arrive later. So the Odes say: "Day by day I advance, month by month I go forward, and learning gains continuous brilliance." This is what is meant.

天設日月，列星辰，調陰陽，張四時，日以暴之，夜以息之，風以幹之，雨露以濡之。其生物也，莫見其所養而物長；其殺物也，莫見其所喪而物亡。此之謂神明。聖人象之，故其起福也，不見其所由而福起；其除禍也，不見其所以而禍除。遠之則邇，延之則疏；稽之弗得，察之不虛；日計無算，歲計有餘。夫濕之至也，莫見其形而炭已重矣；風之至也，莫見其象而木已動矣。日之行也，不見其移；騏驥倍日而馳，草木為之靡；縣烽未轉，而日在其前。故天之且風，草木未動而鳥已翔矣；其且雨也，陰曀未集而魚已噞矣。以陰陽之氣相動也。

Heaven sets up the sun and moon, arranges the stars, harmonizes yin and yang, and unfolds the four seasons; the sun is used to dry, night is used to rest, wind is used to blow things dry, and rain and dew are used to moisten. It gives birth to things without one seeing what nourishes them, yet things grow; it kills things without one seeing what destroys them, yet things die. This is called spirit-like clarity. The sage models himself on it, so he raises up blessing without one seeing the path it follows, yet blessing arises; he removes misfortune without one seeing how, yet misfortune is removed. Distance it and it comes nearer; lengthen it and it becomes more distant; test it and it cannot be obtained, yet observe it and it is not empty; count by the day and there is no count, yet count by the year and there is a surplus. When dampness comes, one does not see its form, yet the charcoal is already heavy; when wind comes, one does not see its image, yet the trees are already moving. As the sun moves, one does not see it shift; a fine steed galloping at twice the sun's speed would cause the plants and trees to fall, and before a hanging beacon turned, the sun is already ahead. So when Heaven is about to bring wind, the plants and trees have not yet moved when birds are already soaring; when it is about to rain, dark clouds have not yet gathered when fish are already gasping at the surface. It is the qi of yin and yang stirring each other.

故寒暑燥濕，以類相從；聲響疾徐，以音應也。故《易》曰：「鳴鶴在陰，其子和之。」高宗諒暗，三年不言，四海之內寂然無聲；一言聲然，大動天下。是以天心呿唫者也，故一動其本而百枝皆應，若春雨之灌萬物也，渾然而流，沛然而施，無地而不澍，無物而不生。故聖人者懷天心，聲然能動化天下者也。故精誠感於內，形氣動於天，則景星見，黃龍下，祥鳳至，醴泉出，嘉穀生，河不滿溢，海不溶波。故《詩》云：「懷柔百神，及河嶠嶽。」逆天暴物，則日月薄蝕，五星失行，四時干乖，晝冥宵光，山崩川涸，冬雷夏霜。《詩》曰：「正月繁霜，我心憂傷。」天之與人，有以相通也。

So cold, heat, dryness and dampness follow each other by kind; sounds, loud or slow, answer by tone. The Changes say: "The crane calls in the shade, and its young respond." When Gaozong was in mourning he did not speak for three years, and within the four seas all was silent; but when a word came forth, the world was greatly moved. This is the opening and closing of Heaven's heart, so when one moves that root a hundred branches respond, as spring rain pours onto the myriad things, flowing evenly and falling copiously, so that no land is not moistened and no thing is not born. So the sage, holding Heaven's heart, can with one sound move and transform the world. When utmost sincerity stirs within and form and breath move Heaven, then auspicious stars appear, yellow dragons descend, propitious phoenixes arrive, sweet springs well up, fine grain grows, rivers do not overflow, and the sea does not raise great waves. So the Odes say: "He soothes the hundred spirits, down to the rivers and high mountains." When one goes against Heaven and tyrannizes things, the sun and moon are eclipsed, the five planets lose their course, the four seasons offend and run contrary, in daylight there is darkness and at night there is light, mountains collapse and rivers dry up, and in winter there is thunder and in summer frost. The Odes say: "In the first month there is much frost; my heart is sad." Heaven and humans have that by which they communicate.

故國危亡而天文變，世惑亂而虹霓現，萬物有以相連，精祲有以相蕩也。故神明之事，不可以智巧為也，不可以筋力致也。天地所包，陰陽所嘔，雨露所濡，化生萬物，瑤碧玉珠，翡翠玳瑁，文彩明朗，潤澤若濡，摩而不玩，外而不渝，奚仲不能旅，魯般不能造，此謂之大巧。宋人有以象為其君為楮葉者，三年而成，莖柯豪芒，鋒殺顏澤，亂之楮葉之中而不可知也。列子曰：「使天地三年而成一葉，則萬物之有葉者寡矣。夫天地之施化也，嘔之而生，吹之而落，豈此契契哉！」故凡可度者，小也；可數者，少也。至大，非度所能及也，至眾，非數所能領也。故九州不可頃畝也，八極不可道里也，太山不可丈尺也，江海不可鬥斛也。

So when the state is in danger of perishing, the celestial signs change; when the age is deluded and disordered, rainbows appear; the myriad things have that by which they are linked, and essences and ill influences have that by which they stir each other. So matters of spirit-like clarity cannot be done by cleverness and cannot be brought about by sinew and strength. What Heaven and Earth enfold, what yin and yang nurture, what rain and dew moisten, the transformation of the myriad things: jade, green gems, pearls, kingfisher feathers and tortoiseshell, with bright patterns and glossy sheen like dew, which does not wear away when rubbed and does not change outside, Xi Zhong could not arrange them and Lu Ban could not make them; this is called great skill. In Song there was a man who carved paper-mulberry leaves from ivory for his lord, and after three years he finished them, with stems, branches, fine points, edges and sheen of color so that they could not be told apart when mixed in with real leaves. Liezi said: "If Heaven and Earth took three years to complete one leaf, there would be few things with leaves among the myriad things. In the bestowing and transforming of Heaven and Earth, what is nurtured is born and what is blown falls; why would it labor so!" So whatever can be measured is small; whatever can be counted is few. The utmost great is not what measuring can reach; the utmost many is not what counting can command. So the nine provinces cannot be measured by qing and mu, the eight extremes cannot be measured by roads and li, Mount Tai cannot be measured by zhang and chi, and rivers and seas cannot be measured by dou and hu.

故大人者，與天地合德，日月合明，鬼神合靈，與四時合信。故聖人懷天氣，抱天心，執中含和，不下廟堂而衍四海，變習易俗，民化而遷善，若性諸己，能以神化也。《詩》云：「神之聽之，終和且平。」夫鬼神視之無形，聽之無聲，然而郊天、望山川，禱祠而求福，雩兌而請雨，卜筮而決事。《詩》云：「神之格思，不可度思，矧可射思。」此之謂也。天致其高，地致其厚，月照其夜，日照其晝，陰陽化，列星朗，非其道而物自然。故陰陽四時，非生萬物也；雨露時降，非養草木也。神明接，陰陽和，而萬物生矣。故高山深林，非為虎豹也；大木茂枝，非為飛鳥也；流源千里，淵深百仞，非為蛟龍也。致其高崇，成其廣大，山居木棲，巢枝穴藏，水潛陸行，各得其所寧焉。

So the great person matches Heaven and Earth in virtue, the sun and moon in brightness, ghosts and spirits in numinous power, and the four seasons in trustworthiness. So the sage embraces Heaven's breath and holds Heaven's heart, holds the mean and contains harmony, and without descending from the temple hall extends to the four seas; he changes habits and alters customs, and the people, transformed, turn toward goodness as if it were in their own nature; this is being able to transform by spirit. The Odes say: "The spirits hear it, and in the end it is harmonious and peaceful." Ghosts and spirits look at what has no form and hear what has no sound, yet people still sacrifice to Heaven in the suburbs, look toward the mountains and rivers, pray and make offerings to seek blessing, perform rain sacrifices to ask for rain, and use tortoise and milfoil to decide matters. The Odes say: "The coming of the spirit cannot be fathomed; how much less can one grow weary of it." This is what is meant. Heaven reaches its height, Earth reaches its thickness, the moon shines on its night, the sun shines on its day, yin and yang change and the stars are bright; it is not that they intend to do that way but that things are naturally so. So yin and yang and the four seasons do not give birth to the myriad things; rain and dew falling in season do not nourish the plants and trees. Spirit-like clarity meets, yin and yang harmonize, and the myriad things are born. So high mountains and deep forests are not for tigers and leopards; great trees and dense branches are not for flying birds; sources flowing a thousand li and pools a hundred ren deep are not for dragons. They reach their height and accomplish their greatness, and those that live in mountains, perch in trees, nest on branches, hide in burrows, dive in water or walk on land each find what gives them peace.

夫大生小，多生少，天之道也。故丘阜不能生雲雨，滎水不能生魚鱉者，小也。牛馬之氣蒸，生蟣蝨；蟣蝨之氣蒸，不能生牛馬。故化生於外，非生於內也。夫蛟龍伏寢於淵，而卵割於陵。螣蛇雄鳴於上風，雌鳴於下風而化成形，精之至也。故聖人養心，莫善於誠，至誠而能動化矣。今夫道者，藏精於內，棲神於心，靜漠恬淡，訟繆胸中，邪氣無所留滯，四枝節族，毛蒸理洩，則機樞調利，百脈九竅莫不順比，其所居神者得其位也，豈節拊而毛修之哉！

The great gives birth to the small and the many gives birth to the few; this is the Way of Heaven. So hills and mounds cannot produce clouds and rain, and shallow water cannot produce fish and turtles, because they are small. The steam of oxen and horses produces lice and nits, but the steam of lice and nits cannot produce oxen and horses. So transformation is born from outside, not from within. The flood dragon sleeps hidden in the pool, but its eggs hatch on the hills. The flying serpent's male cries upwind and the female cries downwind and they transform into form, because essence has reached its limit. So there is nothing better than sincerity for the sage to nurture the mind with, and utmost sincerity can move and transform. Now one who has the Way stores his essence within and lets spirit dwell in the heart, still, quiet and calm, with harmony in the chest, with no evil qi lingering and stagnating; the joints of the four limbs and the pores steam and let qi out, the pivots are smooth and the hundred vessels and nine orifices are all in order, and the spirit that dwells there gets its place; what need is there to stroke every joint and tidy every hair?

聖主在上，廓然無形，寂然無聲，官府若無事，朝廷若無人。無隱士，無軼民，無勞役，無冤刑，四海之內，莫不仰上之德，象主之指，夷狄之國，重譯而至，非戶辯而家說之也，推其誠心，施之天下而已矣。《詩》曰：「惠此中國，以綏四方。」內順而外寧矣。太王亶父處邠，狄人攻之，杖策而去。百姓攜幼扶老，負釜甑，逾梁山，而國乎岐周，非令之所能召也。秦穆公為野人食駿馬肉之傷也，飲之美酒，韓之戰，以其死力報，非券之所責也。密子治亶父，巫馬期往觀化焉，見夜漁者，得小即釋之，非刑之所能禁也。孔子為魯司寇，道不拾遺，市買不豫賈，田漁皆讓長，而斑白不戴負，非法之所能致也。

When a sage ruler is above, he is vast and formless, silent and soundless; the offices seem to have no business and the court seems to have no people. There are no hidden scholars and no neglected people, no corvee labor and no unjust punishments; within the four seas, none fails to look up to his virtue and take the ruler's direction as a model, and the states of the barbarians come through layers of translation, not because he argued house by house or explained family by family, but only because he extended his sincere heart and applied it to the world. The Odes say: "Bestow kindness on this central kingdom to settle the four quarters." When the inside is compliant, the outside is at peace. Taiwang Danfu lived in Bin, and when the Di people came to attack, he left leaning on his staff. The hundred clans carried their young and supported their old, bearing cauldrons and steamers on their backs, crossed Mount Liang and founded a state at Qizhou, which an order could not have summoned them to do. Duke Mu of Qin, because rustics had eaten his fine horse, gave them fine wine to drink, and at the battle of Hanyuan they repaid him with their utmost strength, which could not have been demanded by contract. When Mizi governed Danfu, Wu Maqi went to observe the teaching, and saw a man fishing at night who released the small ones he caught, which a punishment could not have prevented. When Confucius was Minister of Crime in Lu, nothing dropped on the road was picked up, in the market there was no cheating in buying and selling, the old were given precedence in hunting and fishing, and the gray-haired did not carry loads; this is not what law could bring about.

夫矢之所以射遠貫牢者，弩力也；其所以中的剖微者，正心也；賞善罰暴者，政令也；其所以能行者，精誠也。故弩雖強，不能獨中；令雖明，不能獨行；必自精氣所以與之施道。故攄道以被民，而民弗從者，誠心弗施也。天地四時，非生萬物也，神明接，陰陽和，而萬物生之。聖人之治天下，非易民性也，拊循其所有而滌蕩之，故因則大，化則細矣。禹鑿龍門，闢伊闕，決江濬河，東注之海，因水之流也。后稷墾草發菑，糞土樹穀，使五種各得其宜，因地之勢也。湯、武革車三百乘，甲卒三千人，討暴亂，制夏、商，因民之慾也。故能因，則無敵於天下矣。夫物有以自然，而後人事有治也。故良匠不能斫金，巧冶不能鑠木，金之勢不可斫；而木性不可鑠也。埏埴而為器，窬木而為舟，鑠鐵而為刃，鑄金而為鍾，因其可也。駕馬服牛，令雞司夜，令狗守門，因其自然也。民有好色之性，故有大婚之禮；有飲食之性，故有大饗之誼；有喜樂之性，故有鐘鼓管絃之音；有悲哀之性，故有衰絰哭踴之節。故先王之製法也，因民之所好而為之節文者也。因其好色而制婚姻之禮，故男女有別；因其喜音而正《雅》、《頌》之聲，故風俗不流；因其甯家室、樂妻子，教之以順，故父子有親；因其喜朋友而教之以悌，故長幼有序。然後修朝聘以明貴賤，饗飲習射以明長幼，時搜振旅以慣用兵也，入學庠序以修人倫。此皆人之所有於性，而聖人之所匠成也。

What makes an arrow shoot far and pierce what is hard is the power of the crossbow; what makes it hit the target and split the minute is a right mind; rewarding the good and punishing the violent are government decrees; what makes them carried out is sincerity. So though the crossbow is strong, it cannot hit by itself; though orders are clear, they cannot be carried out by themselves; essence and breath must be used to apply the Way to them. So to spread the Way to cover the people and yet the people do not follow is because the sincere heart has not been applied. Heaven, Earth and the four seasons do not give birth to the myriad things; spirit-like clarity meets, yin and yang harmonize, and only then are the myriad things born. When the sage governs the world, he does not change the people's nature, but soothes what they have and cleanses it, so following the great works while forced transformation is minor. Yu cut through Longmen and opened Yique, opened the Yangtze and dredged the rivers, pouring them east into the sea, following the flow of the water. Hou Ji cleared grass and opened wasteland, fertilized soil and planted grain, so that the five grains each found their suitable place, following the lay of the land. Tang and Wu, with three hundred war chariots and three thousand armored soldiers, punished tyranny and disorder and subdued Xia and Shang, following the desires of the people. So one who can follow is without rival in the world. Things have their naturalness, and only then do human affairs have order. So a good craftsman cannot cut metal and a skilled smelter cannot melt wood, for the tendency of metal cannot be cut and the nature of wood cannot be melted. To knead clay into vessels, hollow out wood into boats, melt iron into blades, and cast metal into bells is following what is possible. Yoking horses and harnessing oxen, having chickens watch the night and dogs guard the gate, is following nature. The people have the nature of loving beauty, so there is the great rite of marriage; they have the nature of eating and drinking, so there is the righteousness of the great feast; they have the nature of delight in music, so there are sounds of bells, drums, pipes and strings; they have the nature of grief, so there are the regulations of mourning garb, weeping and stamping. So the former kings made laws following what the people like and giving it measure and form. Following the love of beauty they established the rites of marriage, so that men and women are distinguished; following the delight in music they set right the sounds of the Elegantiae and Hymns, so that customs did not drift; following the contentment of home and the joy in wives and children they taught them compliance, so that father and son have closeness; following the delight in friends they taught them brotherly respect, so that old and young have order. Then they cultivated court visits to make plain noble and humble, feasting and archery practice to make plain old and young, reviews and drills at set times to accustom people to arms, and entering the schools to cultivate human relations. All these are what people have in their nature, and the sage shaped them.

故無其性，不可教訓；有其性，無其養，不能遵道。繭之性為絲，然非得工女煮以熱湯而抽其統紀，則不能成絲；卵之化為雛，非慈雌嘔暖覆伏，累日積久，則不能為雛；人之性有仁義之資，非聖人為之法度而教導之，則不可使向方。故先王之教也，因其所喜以勸善，因其所惡以禁奸。故刑罰不用，而威行如流；政令約省，而化耀如神。故因其性則天下聽從，拂其性則法縣而不用。昔者，五帝三王之蒞政施教，必用參五。何謂參五？仰取象於天，俯取度於地，中取法於人，乃立明堂之朝，行明堂之令，以調陰陽之氣，以和四時之節，以闢疾病之菑。俯視地理，以制度量，察陵陸水澤肥墽高下之宜，立事生財，以除饑寒之患。中考乎人德，以制禮樂，行仁義之道，以治人倫而除暴亂之禍。乃澄列金木水火土之性，故立父子之親而成家；別清濁五音六律相生之數，以立君臣之義而成國；察四時季孟之序，以立長幼之禮而成官。此之謂參。制君臣之義，父子之親，夫婦之辨，長幼之序，朋友之際，此之謂五。乃裂地而州之，分職而治之，築城而居之，割宅而異之，分財而衣食之，立大學而教誨之，夙興夜寐而勞力之。此治之綱紀也。

So without that nature one cannot be taught; with that nature but without nurture one cannot follow the Way. The nature of a cocoon is silk, but without a woman worker to boil it in hot water and draw out the thread, it cannot become silk; an egg transforms into a chick, but without a kind hen to warm and sit on it for days and days, it cannot become a chick; a person's nature has the stuff of humaneness and righteousness, but without a sage to make laws and standards and teach him, he cannot be made to turn toward uprightness. So the teaching of the former kings encouraged good by what people like and prohibited evil by what they dislike. So punishments were not used, and their awe moved like flowing water; government orders were simple, and their transforming influence shone like spirit. So following nature the world obeyed, and going against nature the law would hang unused. In the past, when the Five Emperors and Three Kings ruled and taught, they must have used the triple and the quintuple. What is the triple and the quintuple? Looking up they took images from Heaven, looking down they took measures from Earth, and in the middle they took models from humans; then they established the court of the Bright Hall, carried out the orders of the Bright Hall, to harmonize the energy of yin and yang, to harmonize the seasons of the four seasons, and to avoid the calamity of disease. Looking down on the earth's patterns, they fixed measures, observed what fertile and barren land, hills, plains, water and marshes high and low were suited for, established works and produced wealth to remove the trouble of hunger and cold. In the middle they examined human virtue, to make ritual and music and carry out the way of humaneness and righteousness, to govern human relations and remove the calamity of violence and disorder. Then they clarified the natures of the five phases of metal, wood, water, fire and earth, and thereby established the closeness of father and son and completed the family; they distinguished clear and muddy and the numbers of mutual generation of the five notes and six pitches, to establish the righteousness of ruler and minister and complete the state; they observed the order of first, middle and last months of the four seasons to establish the ritual of old and young and complete the offices. This is called the triple. Fixing the righteousness of ruler and minister, the closeness of father and son, the distinction of husband and wife, the order of old and young, and the relation of friends is called the quintuple. Then they divided the land into provinces, divided duties to manage them, built walls to dwell in, divided house plots to distinguish, shared wealth to supply clothing and food, set up great schools to teach, and rose early and slept late to labor. These are the cords and threads of governance.

然得其人則舉，失其人則廢。堯治天下，政教平，德潤洽，在位七十載，乃求所屬天下之統，令四嶽揚側陋。四嶽舉舜而薦之堯。堯乃妻以二女，以觀其內；任以百官，以觀其外。既入大麓，烈風雷雨而不迷，乃屬以九子，贈以昭華之玉，而傳天下焉。以為雖有法度，而朱弗能統也。夫物未嘗有張而不馳，成而不毀者也。惟聖人能盛而不衰，盈而不虧。神農之初作琴也，以歸神；及其淫也，反其天心。夔之初作樂也，皆合六律而調五音，以通八風；及其衰也，以沉湎淫康，不顧政治，至於滅亡。蒼頡之初作書，以辯治百官，領理萬事，愚者得以不忘，智者得以志遠；至其衰也，為奸刻偽書，以解有罪，以殺不辜。湯之初作囿也，以奉宗廟鮮犞之具，簡士卒，習射禦，以戒不虞；及至其衰也，馳騁獵射，以奪民時，疲民之力。堯之舉禹、契、后稷、皋陶，政教平，奸宄息，獄訟止而衣食足，賢者勸善而不肖者懷其德；及至其末，朋黨比周，各推其與，廢公趨私，內外相推舉，奸人在朝，而賢者隱處。

But if they got the right person they raised him, and if they lost the right person they set it aside. When Yao governed the world, government and teaching were level and virtue moistened all, and after seventy years in the position he sought someone to entrust with the line of the world and had the Four Mountains recommend the humble. The Four Mountains recommended Shun to Yao. Yao then married his two daughters to him to observe his inner side, and gave him the hundred officials to use to observe his outer side. When he entered the great forest, fierce wind, thunder and rain did not confuse him, and so Yao entrusted nine sons to him, gave him the Zhaohua jade, and passed the world to him. He thought that even with laws and standards, Danzhu could not take them over. Nothing has ever been drawn taut and not slackened, or completed and not destroyed. Only the sage can flourish and not decline, be full and not diminish. Shennong first made the zither, to bring spirits back; when it grew licentious, it turned against Heaven's heart. Kui first made music, all fitting the six pitches and tuning the five notes, to communicate with the eight winds; when it declined, they sank into indulgence and ease, neglected governance, and went to destruction. Cang Jie first made writing, to distinguish and govern the hundred officials and manage the myriad affairs, so that the foolish could not forget and the wise could extend their aims; when it declined, people made cunning and false documents to free the guilty and kill the innocent. Tang first made hunting parks, to provide fresh game for the ancestral temple and train soldiers, practice archery and driving, to guard against the unforeseen; when it declined, they galloped and hunted, took the people's seasons and exhausted the people's strength. Yao raised Yu, Xie, Hou Ji and Gao Yao, government and teaching were level, treachery ceased, lawsuits stopped, clothing and food were sufficient, the worthy were encouraged to do good and the unworthy longed for his virtue; at the end, cliques formed and joined, each recommending members of his own party, abandoning public good for private, inside and out recommending each other, with traitors at court and the worthy hidden.

故《易》之失也，卦；《書》之失也，敷；樂之失也，淫；《詩》之失也，闢；禮之失也，責；《春秋》之失也，刺。天地之道，極則反，盈則損。五色雖朗，有時而渝；茂木豐草，有時而落；物有隆殺，不得自若。故聖人事窮而更為，法弊而改制，非樂變古易常也，將以救敗扶衰，黜淫濟非，以調天地之氣，順萬物之宜也。聖人天覆地載，日月照，陰陽調，四時化，萬物不同，無故無新，無疏無親，故能法天。天不一時，地不一利，人不一事，是以緒業不得不多端，趨行不得不殊方。五行異氣而皆適調，六藝異科而皆同道。溫惠柔良者，《詩》之風也；淳龐敦厚者，《書》之教也；清明條達者，《易》之義也；恭儉尊讓者，禮之為也；寬裕簡易者，樂之化也；刺幾辯義者，《春秋》之靡也。故《易》之失，鬼；樂之失，淫；《詩》之失，愚；《書》之失，拘；禮之失，忮；《春秋》之失，訾。六者，聖人兼用而財制之。失本則亂，得本則治。其美在和，其失在權。

So the failing of the Changes lies in the hexagrams; the failing of the Documents lies in expounding; the failing of music lies in licentiousness; the failing of the Odes lies in deviance; the failing of ritual lies in reproach; the failing of the Annals lies in satire. The Way of Heaven and Earth reverses when it reaches the extreme and diminishes when full. Though the five colors are bright, at times they change; luxuriant trees and rich grass at times fall; things have their growth and decline and cannot stay as they were. So when the sage's affairs are exhausted he does something else, and when the laws are worn he changes the system, not out of pleasure in altering the ancient and changing the constant, but to save the failing and support the declining, to dismiss licentiousness and help set right the wrong, to harmonize the energy of Heaven and Earth and follow what is fitting for the myriad things. The sage, like Heaven covering and Earth carrying, with sun and moon shining, yin and yang in balance, the four seasons transforming, the myriad things differing, no old and no new, no distant and no close, can therefore model himself on Heaven. Heaven is not one season, Earth not one profit, a person not one task, and therefore undertakings cannot but be many-sided and directions and conduct cannot but differ. The qi of the five phases differs yet all are suitably balanced; the six arts differ in subject yet all share the same Way. Warm, kind, gentle and good is the manner of the Odes; simple, sturdy, sincere and generous is the teaching of the Documents; clear, bright and penetrating is the meaning of the Changes; respectful, frugal, honoring and yielding is the work of ritual; broad, gentle, simple and easy is the transformation of music; satirizing and discriminating righteousness is the literary form of the Annals. So the failing of the Changes lies in spirits; the failing of music lies in licentiousness; the failing of the Odes lies in foolishness; the failing of the Documents lies in rigidity; the failing of ritual lies in jealousy; the failing of the Annals lies in carping. The sage uses all six and discerns among them. If one loses the root there is disorder; if one holds the root there is order. Fineness lies in harmony, and failure lies in expediency.

水火金木土穀，異物而皆任；規矩權衡準繩，異形而皆施；丹青膠漆，不同而皆用，各有所適，物各有宜。輪圓輿方，轅從衡橫，勢施便也；驂欲馳，服欲步，帶不厭新，鉤不厭故，處地宜也。《關睢》興於鳥，而君子美之，為其雌雄之不乖居也；《鹿鳴》興於獸，君子大之，取其見食而相呼也；泓之戰，軍敗君獲，而《春秋》大之，取其不鼓不成列也；宋伯姬坐燒而死，《春秋》大之，取其不逾禮而行也。成功立事，豈足多哉！方指所言而取一概焉爾。王喬、赤松，去塵埃之間，離群慝之紛，吸陰陽之和，食天地之精，呼而出故，吸而入新，虛輕舉，乘雲遊霧，可謂養性矣，而未可謂孝子也。周公誅管叔、蔡叔，以平國弭亂，可謂忠臣也，而未可謂弟也。湯放桀，武王伐紂，以為天下去殘除賊，可謂惠君，而未可謂忠臣矣。樂羊攻中山未能下，中山烹其子，而食之以示威，可謂良將，而未可謂慈父也。

Water, fire, metal, wood, earth and grain are different things, yet all are put to use; the compass, square, scale, level, plumb line and cord differ in form, yet all are applied; cinnabar, blue pigment, glue and lacquer are different, yet all are used, each having what suits it, and each thing having what is fitting. Wheels are round and carriage bodies square, shafts run lengthwise and yokes crosswise, which is the convenience of the arrangement; the outside horses want to gallop and the inside horses want to walk, sashes do not tire of being new and hooks do not tire of being old, which is suitability to place. The 'Guan Ju' begins with birds, and the gentleman finds it beautiful because the male and female do not part but live together; the 'Lu Ming' begins with beasts, and the gentleman values it because they call one another when they see food; at the battle of Hong, the army was defeated and the ruler captured, and the Spring and Autumn Annals valued it because he did not strike before the ranks were formed; Bo Ji of Song sat and was burned to death, and the Annals valued it because she did not overstep ritual to move. In accomplishing success and establishing affairs, what is there to say at length! One simply takes an outline from what it points to. Wang Qiao and Chisongzi left the dust and the confusion of the crowd of evils, breathed the harmony of yin and yang, ate the essence of heaven and earth, exhaled the old and inhaled the new, rose lightly in emptiness, rode clouds and traveled in mist, and one can say they nourished their nature, yet they cannot be called filial sons. The Duke of Zhou executed Guan Shu and Cai Shu to pacify the state and stop disorder, and one may say a loyal minister, yet he cannot be called a good younger brother. Tang banished Jie and King Wu attacked Zhou, thinking to remove cruelty and harm from the world, and one may say benevolent rulers, yet they cannot be called loyal ministers. Yue Yang attacked Zhongshan and could not take it; Zhongshan boiled his son, and he ate the soup to show his might, and one may say a good general, yet he cannot be called a kind father.