Ren Jian Xun (Among Humans)
《齊俗》者，所以一群生之短修，同九夷之風氣，通古今之論，貫萬物之理，財制禮義之宜，擘畫人事之終始者也。
The Qi Su (Equalizing Customs) is used to equalize the long and short of the multitude of living things, unify the customs of the nine barbarian tribes, connect the arguments of past and present, penetrate the principles of the ten thousand things, regulate what is fitting in ritual and righteousness, and map out the beginning and end of human affairs.
《道應》者，攬掇遂事之蹤，追觀往古之跡，察禍福利害之反，考驗乎老莊之術，而以合得失之勢者也。
The Dao Ying (Responses of the Way) collects the traces of events already completed, looks back at the traces of the past, examines the reversals of fortune, misfortune, benefit, and harm, tests them against the arts of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and fits the tendencies of gain and loss.
《氾論》者，所以箴縷縩繺之間，攕揳唲齵之郤也。接徑直施，以推本樸，而兆見得失之變，利病之反，所以使人不妄沒於勢利，不誘惑於事態，有符曮晲，兼稽時勢之變，而與化推移者也。
The Fan Lun (Comprehensive Discussions) is used to sew up the seams between things and fill the uneven gaps. It follows by applying the straight Way to seek the original simplicity, foresees the changes of gain and loss and the reversals of benefit and harm, and so makes people not recklessly sink into power and profit, nor be lured by circumstances; it has verifications one can look at, and also examines the changes of the times, shifting along with transformation.
《詮言》者，所以譬類人事之指，解喻治亂之體也。差擇微言之眇，詮以至理之文，而補縫過失之闕者也。
The Quan Yan (Explanatory Sayings) is used to compare and classify the intent of human affairs and explain the substance of order and disorder. It selects the wonder of subtle words, explains them with writings of the ultimate principle, and mends the gaps of faults.
《兵略》者，所以明戰勝攻取之數，形機之勢，詐譎之變，體因循之道，操持後之論也。所以知戰陣分爭之非道不行也，知攻取堅守之非德不強也。誠明其意，進退左右無所失擊危，乘勢以為資，清靜以為常，避實就虛，若驅群羊，此所以言兵者也。
The Bing Lue (Military Strategy) is used to make clear the methods of winning battles and taking cities, the power of the form of the opportunity, the changes of deception and trickery, to examine the way of following circumstances, and to hold the doctrine of moving after the enemy. So it makes known that without the Way, battle formations and contention cannot proceed, and without virtue, attacking, taking, and holding firm cannot be made strong. When one truly understands its intent, there is no mistake in advancing, retreating, left, or right; one rides on the situation and uses the resources at hand, takes calm and stillness as constant, avoids the solid and goes to the empty, like driving a flock of sheep; this is how military affairs are explained.
《說山》、《說林》者，所以竅窕穿鑿百事之壅遏，而通行貫扃萬物之窒塞者也。假譬取象，異類殊形，以領理人之意，解除結細，說捍摶囷而以明事埒事者也。
The Shuo Shan and Shuo Lin (Discourses on Mountains and Forests) are used to open and bore through the blockages of the hundred affairs and make passable the obstructions of the ten thousand things. They borrow analogies and take images, with things of different kinds and unlike forms, to guide people's understanding, untie knots, and explain coils, in order to show the omens of events.
《人間》者，所以觀禍福之變，察利害之反，鑽脈得失之跡，標舉終始之壇也。分別百事之微，敷陳存亡之機，使人知禍之為福，亡之為得，成之為敗，利之為害也。誠喻至意，則有以傾側偃仰世俗之間，而無傷乎讒賊螫毒者也。
The Ren Jian (Among Humans) is used to observe the changes of fortune and misfortune, examine the reversals of benefit and harm, study the traces of gain and loss, and set out the shifting altars of beginnings and ends. It distinguishes the subtleties of the hundred affairs and sets out the springs of survival and ruin, making people know that misfortune can become fortune, loss can become gain, success can become failure, and benefit can become harm. When one truly understands to the ultimate meaning, one has the means to lean and bend within the world's customs and not be hurt by slander and poison.
《修務》者，所以為人之於道未淹，味論未深，見其文辭，反之以清靜為常，恬淡為本，則懈墮分學，縱欲適情，欲以偷自佚，而塞於大道也。今夫狂者無憂，聖人亦無憂。聖人無憂，和以德也；狂者無憂，不知禍福也。故通而無為也，與塞而無為也同；其無為則同，其所以無為則異。故為之浮稱流說其所以能聽，所以使學者孳孳以自幾也。
The Xiu Wu (Cultivating Effort) was written because people have not yet mastered the Way, their savoring of the discourse is not deep, and on seeing the literary words they instead take calm and stillness as constant and tranquil indifference as root; they then become lazy and study apart, indulge desires and follow their moods, wish to steal ease for themselves, and block the great Way. Now a madman has no worries, and a sage has no worries. A sage has no worries because he uses virtue to harmonize; a madman has no worries because he does not know fortune and misfortune. So the non-action of the enlightened is the same as the non-action of the blocked; the non-action is the same, and yet what the non-acting do is different. So it supplies floating talk and flowing sayings so that people can listen, and has students seek diligently so that they draw near for themselves.
《泰族》者，橫八極，致高乘，上明三光，下和水土，經古今之道，治倫理之序，總萬方之指，而歸之一本，以經緯治道，紀綱王事，乃原心術，理性情，以館清平之靈，澄澈神明之精，以與天和相嬰薄，所以覽五帝三王，懷天氣，抱天心，執中含和，德形於內，以莙凝天地，發起陰陽，序四時，正流方，綏之斯寧，推之斯行，乃以陶冶萬物，遊化群生，唱而和，動而隨，四海之內，一心同歸。故景星見，祥風至，黃龍下，鳳巢列樹，麟止郊野。德不內形，而行其法藉，專用制度，神祇弗應，福祥不歸，四海不賓，兆民弗化。故德形於內，治之大本。此《鴻烈》之《泰族》也。
The Tai Zu (The Grand Clan) spans the eight extremes and reaches the highest vehicle, above clarifies the three luminaries and below harmonizes water and earth, manages the Way of past and present, governs the order of human relations, and gathers the directions of the ten thousand regions, returning them to one root, in order to weave the warp and weft of the Way of government and set the guiding threads of royal affairs. It then traces back to the art of the mind, regulates nature and feelings, to lodge and nurture the clear and calm spirit and clarify the essence of the divine light, and to intertwine with Heaven's harmony. So it surveys the Five Emperors and Three Kings, embraces the breath of Heaven and the mind of Heaven, holds the center and contains harmony, so that virtue takes shape from within and is used to coagulate Heaven and Earth, arouse yin and yang, order the four seasons, and set the flowing directions right. Comforting brings peace, and extending it brings practice; then it molds and fires the ten thousand things and transforms the multitude of living beings, so that when one sings, others harmonize, and when one moves, others follow, and within the four seas one heart goes the same way. So the auspicious star appears, the auspicious wind arrives, the yellow dragon descends, phoenixes nest in rows of trees, and the qilin stays in the suburbs. If virtue does not take shape from within but practices laws and records and relies solely on institutions, the spirits do not respond, auspicious omens do not come, the four seas do not submit, and the myriad people are not transformed. So virtue taking shape from within is the great root of governing. This is the Tai Zu of the Hong Lie.
凡屬書者，所以窺道開塞，庶後世使知舉錯取捨之宜適，外與物接而不眩，內有以處神養氣，宴煬至和，而己自樂所受乎天地者也。故言道而不明終始，則不知所仿依；言終始而不明天地四時，則不知所避諱；言天地四時而不引譬援類，則不知精微；言至精而不原人之神氣，則不知養生之機；原人情而不言大聖之德，則不知五行之差；言帝道而不言君事，則不知小大之衰；言君事而不為稱喻，則不知動靜之宜；言稱喻而不言俗變，則不知合同大指；已言俗變而不言往事，則不知道德之應；知道德而不知世曲，則無以耦萬方；知氾論而不知詮言，則無以從容；通書文而不知兵指，則無以應卒已；知大略而不知譬喻，則無以推明事；知公道而不知人間，則無以應禍福；知人間而不知修務，則無以使學者勸力。欲強省其辭，覽總其要，弗曲行區入，則不足以窮道德之意。故著書二十篇，則天地之理究矣，人間之事接矣，帝王之道備矣！
In general, this composed work is used to peer into the Way and open blockages, to let later ages know what is suitable in raising and setting aside, taking and rejecting; outwardly one deals with things without dazzlement, inwardly one has the means to dwell with the spirit and nurture the breath, resting in warm and perfect harmony, and delighting in what one receives from Heaven and Earth. So if one speaks of the Dao without making clear beginning and end, one does not know what to rely on; if one speaks of beginning and end without making clear Heaven, Earth, and the four seasons, one does not know what to avoid; if one speaks of Heaven, Earth, and the four seasons without drawing analogies and citing categories, one does not know the subtle; if one speaks of the utmost subtlety without tracing back the spirit and breath of man, one does not know the springs of nourishing life; if one traces human feelings without speaking of the virtue of the great sage, one does not know the differences of the five phases; if one speaks of the Way of emperors without speaking of the ruler's affairs, one does not know the gradations between small and great; if one speaks of the ruler's affairs without making comparisons and metaphors, one does not know what suits movement and rest; if one speaks of comparisons and metaphors without speaking of changes in customs, one does not know how to unite the great aims; if one has spoken of changes in customs without speaking of past affairs, one does not know the response of the Way and virtue; if one knows the Way and virtue but not the crookedness of the world, one has nothing with which to match the ten thousand regions; if one knows comprehensive discussion but not explanatory sayings, one has nothing with which to be at ease; if one understands writings but not the intent of military affairs, one has nothing with which to respond to sudden events; if one knows the general outline but not metaphors, one has nothing with which to explain things; if one knows the public Way but not the human world, one has nothing with which to respond to fortune and misfortune; if one knows the human world but not cultivating effort, one has nothing with which to urge students to exert themselves. If one tries to cut down the words and gather the main points without bending and entering by turns, one is not enough to exhaust the meaning of the Way and virtue. So in composing twenty chapters, the principles of Heaven and Earth are exhausted, the affairs of the human world are connected, and the Way of emperors and kings is complete!
其言有小有巨，有微有粗，指奏卷異，各有為語。今專言道，則無不在焉，然而能得本知末者，其唯聖人也。今學者無聖人之才，而不為詳說，則終身顛頓乎混溟之中，而不知覺寤乎昭明之術矣。今《易》之《乾》、《坤》，足以窮道通義也，八卦可以識吉凶、知禍福矣，然而伏羲為之六十四變，周室增以六爻，所以原測淑清之道，而扌麏逐萬物之祖也。夫五音之數不過宮商角徵羽，然而五絃之琴不可鼓也。必有細大駕和，而後可以成曲。今畫龍首，觀者不知其何獸也，具其形，則不疑矣。今謂之道則多，謂之物則少，謂之術則博，謂之事則淺，推之以論，則無可言者，所以為學者，固欲致之不言而已也。夫道論至深，故多為之辭，以抒其情；萬物至眾，故博為之說，以通其意。辭雖壇卷連漫，絞紛遠緩，所以洮汰滌蕩至意，使之無凝竭底滯，卷握而不散也。夫江河之腐胔，不可勝數，然祭者汲焉，大也。一杯酒白，蠅漬其中，匹夫弗嘗者，小也。誠通乎二十篇之論，睹凡得要，以通九野，徑十門，外天地，捭山川，其於逍遙一世之間，宰匠萬物之形，亦優遊矣。若然者，挾日月而不烑，潤萬物而不秏。曼兮洮兮，足以覽矣，藐兮浩兮，曠曠兮，可以遊矣。
Those words are small and great, subtle and coarse, and their intentions differ in every detail, each spoken for its own purpose. If one speaks only of the Dao, it is everywhere, but only a sage can get the root and know the branch. Today's students do not have the talent of a sage, and if they are not given detailed explanations, they will stumble all their lives in the murky darkness and not know to awaken to the art of brightness. Now the Qian and Kun hexagrams of the Book of Changes are enough to exhaust the Way and reach righteousness, and the eight trigrams can distinguish good and ill omens and know fortune and misfortune; yet Fu Xi made the sixty-four changes, and the House of Zhou added the six lines, to trace back and measure the fine and clear Way and gather and chase the ancestors of the ten thousand things. The numbers of the five notes are no more than gong, shang, jue, zhi, and yu, but a zither of five strings cannot be played; one must have fine and large sounds in harmony before a tune can be made. Now if one draws only the head of a dragon, those who look do not know what beast it is; once its form is complete, they do not doubt. Now there is much said about the Way and little about things, much broad speech about methods and little about affairs; if pressed to argue, there is nothing to say, so those who study naturally wish to reach that which is not said. The discourse on the Way is extremely deep, so much phrasing is given to it to pour out its feeling; the ten thousand things are extremely many, so wide exposition is given to it to open up its meaning. Though the words are coiling, linking, and sprawling, twisting and tangled, distant and slow, they are used to wash and sweep the ultimate meaning so that it does not congeal, dry up, stagnate, or accumulate, but is held rolled up without scattering. The rotten meat in the Yangtze and the Yellow River cannot be counted, yet the one who sacrifices draws water from them because they are great. A cup of white wine with a fly soaked in it, even a commoner will not taste it, because it is small. If one truly masters the discourse of the twenty chapters, sees the whole and grasps the main points, one can penetrate the nine fields, pass through the ten gates, set heaven and earth aside, and divide mountains and rivers; and in roaming freely within a single age and governing the forms of the ten thousand things, one will also be at leisure. Like this, one carries sun and moon without being scorched and moistens the ten thousand things without being depleted. Vast and flowing, one has seen enough; distant and boundless, empty and wide, one can roam.
文王之時，紂為天子，賦斂無度，殺戮無止，康梁沉湎，宮中成市，作為炮烙之刑，刳諫者，剔孕婦，天下同心而苦之。文王四世累善，修德行義，處岐周之間，地方不過百里，天下二垂歸之。文王欲以卑弱制強暴，以為天下去殘除賊而成王道，故太公之謀生焉。
In the time of King Wen, Zhou was Son of Heaven, and his taxes had no limit and his killings no end; he indulged in pleasure and drink, the palace became a marketplace, he made the hot-pillar punishment, cut open those who remonstrated, and slit open pregnant women, and the whole world shared the sense of suffering. For four generations King Wen's house accumulated goodness, cultivated virtue and practiced righteousness; dwelling between Qi and Zhou, his territory did not exceed a hundred li, and yet the world turned to him from both sides. King Wen wanted to use humility and weakness to restrain the strong and violent, to remove cruelty and harm for the world and accomplish the kingly Way, and so the strategy of Taigong arose.
文王業之而不卒，武王繼文王之業，用太公之謀，悉索薄賦，躬擐甲冑，以伐無道而討不義，誓師牧野，以踐天子之位。天下未定，海內未輯，武王欲昭文王之令德，使夷狄各以其賄來貢，遼遠未能至，故治三年之喪，殯文王於兩楹之間，以俟遠方。武王立三年而崩，成王在褓繈之中，未能用事，蔡叔、管叔，輔公子祿父而欲為亂，周公繼文王之業，持天子之政，以股肱周室，輔翼成王，懼爭道之不塞，臣下之危上也，故縱馬華山，放牛桃林，敗鼓折枹，搢笏而朝，以寧靜王室，鎮撫諸侯。成王既壯，能從政事，周公受封於魯，以此移風易俗。孔子修成、康之道，述周公之訓，以教七十子，使服其衣冠，修其篇籍，故儒者之學生焉。
King Wen managed it but did not complete it; King Wu carried on King Wen's work, used Taigong's strategy, drew on the thin levies to the last, personally put on armor and helmet to attack the one without the Way and punish the unrighteous, took the oath with his troops at Muye, and mounted the throne of the Son of Heaven. The world was not yet settled and within the seas was not yet at peace; King Wu wished to make clear King Wen's excellent commands and have the barbarians each bring goods as tribute, but those far away could not yet come, so he held a three-year mourning and placed King Wen's coffin between the two pillars to wait for the distant. King Wu died after standing for three years, and King Cheng was still in swaddling clothes and could not yet handle affairs; Uncle Cai and Uncle Guan, assisting Prince Lufu, wished to start a rebellion. The Duke of Zhou carried on King Wen's work, held the government of the Son of Heaven, served as the limbs of the House of Zhou and assisted King Cheng, fearing that struggles over the Way could not be blocked and that subjects would harm those above, so he released horses on Mount Hua and cattle in the Peach Forest, broke the drums and snapped the drumsticks, and attended court with a tablet stuck in his sash, in order to calm the royal house and pacify the lords. When King Cheng was grown and could attend to affairs, the Duke of Zhou was enfeoffed in Lu, and used it to change customs and alter habits. Confucius cultivated the Way of Cheng and Kang and transmitted the teachings of the Duke of Zhou to instruct his seventy disciples, making them wear his clothes and caps and cultivate his texts, and so the students of the Confucians came forth.
墨子學儒者之業，受孔子之術，以為其禮煩擾而不說，厚葬靡財而貧民，服傷生而害事，故背周道而行夏政。禹之時，天下大水，禹身執虆垂，以為民先，剔河而道九岐，鑿江而通九路，闢五湖而定東海，當此之時，燒不暇撌，濡不給扢，死陵者葬陵，死澤者葬澤，故節財、薄葬、閑服生焉。
Mozi studied the work of the Confucians and received the art of Confucius, but thought that their rituals were fussy and unpleasant, that lavish burial wasted wealth and impoverished the people, and that mourning dress harmed life and hindered affairs, so he turned his back on the Zhou way and followed the government of Xia. In the time of Yu, there was a great flood in the world, and Yu himself took basket and spade and set an example for the people, dredged the rivers and opened nine branches, cut through the Yangtze and opened nine routes, opened up the five lakes and settled the East Sea; at that time, when fire was burning there was no time to put it out, when wet there was no time to wipe off, those who died on hills were buried on hills and those who died in marshes were buried in marshes, and so thrift in spending, light burial, and simple dress arose.
齊桓公之時，天子卑弱，諸侯力征，南夷北狄，交伐中國，中國之不絕如線。齊國之地，東負海而北障河，地狹田少，而民多智巧，桓公憂中國之患，苦夷狄之亂，欲以存亡繼絕，崇天子之位，廣文、武之業，故《管子》之書生焉。齊景公內好聲色，外好狗馬，獵射亡歸，好色無辨。作為路寢之臺，族鑄大鍾，撞之庭下，郊雉皆呴，一朝用三千鍾贛，梁丘據、子家噲導於左右，故晏子之諫生焉。
In the time of Duke Huan of Qi, the Son of Heaven was humble and weak, the lords attacked each other by force, and the southern Yi and northern Di took turns attacking the Central States, so that the Central States hung on like a single thread. The land of Qi leaned on the sea to the east and was blocked by the river to the north, with narrow land and little farmland, and its people were full of cleverness. Duke Huan worried about the troubles of the Central States and was pained by the disorder of the barbarians, and wished to preserve what was perishing and continue what was cut off, raise the position of the Son of Heaven, and broaden the work of Wen and Wu, so the book of Guanzi arose. Duke Jing of Qi loved music and women within and dogs and horses without; he hunted and shot and forgot to return, and loved women without discrimination. He built a terrace at the main chamber, cast a great bell all at once, and struck it in the courtyard so that pheasants in the wilds cried out, and in a single morning gave away three thousand zhong of grain; Liangqiu Ju and Zijia Kuai led him on at his side, and so Yan Zi's remonstrances arose.
晚世之時，六國諸侯，溪異谷別，水絕山隔，各自治其境內，守其分地，握其權柄，擅其政令。下無方伯，上無天子，力征爭權，勝者為右，恃連與國，約重致，剖信符，結遠援，以守其國家，持其社稷，故縱橫修短生焉。
In later ages, the lords of the six states lived in different valleys, separated by waters and mountains, each governed what was within its own borders, held its allotted land, grasped the handles of power, and monopolized the governing decrees. Below there was no regional lord, above there was no Son of Heaven; they fought by force to seize power, and the winner was on top, relying on allied states, binding with heavy gifts, splitting tallies of good faith, and making distant alliances to guard their states and hold their altars, and so the schools of vertical and horizontal alliances, of long and short, arose.
申子者，朝昭釐之佐，韓、晉別國也。地墽民險，而介於大國之間，晉國之故禮未滅，韓國之新法重出，先君之令未收，後君之令又下，新故相反，前後相繆，百官背亂，不知所用。故刑名之書生焉。
Shen Buhai was the assistant of Marquis Zhaoxi of Han, in the state that had split from Jin. The land was barren and the people were treacherous, squeezed between great states; the old rites of Jin had not yet been extinguished while the new laws of Han emerged again; the orders of the former lord had not been withdrawn while the orders of the later lord came down; new and old contradicted each other, the front and rear were in error, and the hundred officials were confused and did not know what to follow. So the writings on penalties and names arose.
秦國之俗，貪狼強力，寡義而趨利。可威以刑，而不可化以善；可勸以賞，而不可厲以名。被險而帶河，四塞以為固，地利形便，畜積殷富。孝公欲以虎狼之勢而吞諸侯，故商鞅之法生焉。
The custom of Qin was greedy, wolfish, and given to force, lacking in righteousness and bent on profit. It could be overawed with punishments but not transformed by goodness; it could be encouraged with rewards but not sharpened by renown. It lay clad in dangerous terrain and girdled by the river, with four barriers as its fortress, with convenient advantages of land and terrain, and abundant stores. Duke Xiao wished to swallow the lords with the force of tigers and wolves, and so the laws of Shang Yang arose.
若劉氏之書，觀天地之象，通古今之事，權事而立制，度形而施宜，原道之心，合三王之風，以儲與扈冶。玄眇之中，精搖靡覽，棄其畛挈，斟其淑靜，以統天下，理萬物，應變化，通殊類，非循一跡之路，守一隅之指，拘繫牽連之物，而不與世推移也。故置之尋常而不塞，布之天下而不窕。
As for the book of the Liu house, it observes the images of Heaven and Earth, penetrates the affairs of past and present, weighs events to establish institutions, measures forms to apply what is fitting, traces the mind of the Way, and joins the customs of the Three Kings, in order to store up vastness. Within the dark and subtle, its essence shakes and surveys everything, discarding the coarse and weighing the fine and tranquil, to unify the world, order the ten thousand things, respond to change, and connect different kinds; it does not follow the tracks of a single road, keep to the direction of a single corner, or cling to entangled things without shifting with the world. So placed in a space of a few feet it does not block, and spread across the world it leaves no gap.