Wu Wei (The Five Positions)

東方之極，自碣石山過朝鮮，貫大人之國，東至日出之次，榑木之地，青土樹木之野，太皞、句芒之所司者，萬二千里。其令曰：挺群禁，開閉闔，通窮窒，達障塞，行優遊，棄怨惡，解役罪，免憂患，休罰刑，開關梁，宣出財，和外怨，撫四方，行柔惠，止剛強。

The east extreme goes from Mount Jieshi, through Korea, through the state of the Great Men, east to the station where the sun rises, the land of Fusang, and the wilds of azure earth and trees, which Taihao and Gou Mang govern, twelve thousand li. Its ordinance says: relax the various prohibitions, open what is shut, clear what is blocked, open barriers and obstructions, act at leisure, abandon resentment and hatred, release those in labor-service penalty, remove worries, stop punishments, open passes and bridges, release goods and wealth, harmonize resentment outside, comfort the four quarters, carry out gentleness and kindness, and stop harshness.

南方之極，自北戶孫之外，貫顓頊之國，南至委火炎風之野，赤帝、祝融之所司者，萬二千里。其令曰：爵有德，賞有功，惠賢良，救飢渴，舉力農，振貧窮，惠孤寡，憂罷疾，出大祿，行大賞，起毀宗，立無後，封建侯，立賢輔。

The south extreme goes from beyond Beihusun, through the state of Zhuanxu, south to the wilds of Weihuo and the scorching wind, which the Red Emperor and Zhurong govern, twelve thousand li. Its ordinance says: give ranks to those with virtue, reward those with merit, favor the worthy and good, relieve the hungry and thirsty, promote those who work hard at farming, relieve the poor, favor orphans and widows, care for the weary and ill, issue great stipends, carry out great rewards, revive ruined lineages, establish heirs for those without descendants, enfeoff feudal lords, and establish worthy assistants.

中央之極，自昆侖東絕兩恆山，日月之所道，江、漢之所出，眾民之野，五穀之所宜，龍門、河、濟相貫，以息壤堙洪水之州，東至於碣石，黃帝、后土之所司者，萬二千里。其令曰：平而不阿，明而不苛，包裹覆露，無不囊懷，溥氾無私，正靜以和，行稃鬻，養老衰，弔死問疾，以送萬物之歸。

The central extreme goes from Kunlun east across the two Heng mountains, the path of the sun and moon, the place where the Jiang and Han rivers come out, the wilds of the multitude of people, the land suited to the five grains, where Longmen, the Yellow River and the Ji flow through one another, and the province where the floods were blocked with self-growing soil, east to Mount Jieshi, which the Yellow Emperor and Houtu govern, twelve thousand li. Its ordinance says: be level and upright without partiality, discerning without harshness, enfolding and covering, so that nothing is not enclosed and embraced, universal and without selfishness, upright, quiet and harmonious, give out gruel, support the aged and weak, condole with the dead and inquire after the sick, to see off the departure of the myriad things.

西方之極，自昆侖絕流沙、沈羽，西至三危之國，石城金室，飲氣之民，不死之野，少皞、蓐收之所司者，萬二千里。其令曰：審用法，誅必辜，備盜賊，禁姦邪，飾群牧，謹著聚，修城郭，補決竇，塞蹊徑，遏溝瀆，止流水，雝谿谷，守門閭，陳兵甲，選百官，誅不法。

The west extreme goes from Kunlun across the flowing sands and Shenyu, west to the state of Sanwei, the stone cities and gold chambers, the people who drink qi, and the wilds of the deathless, which Shaohao and Rushou govern, twelve thousand li. Its ordinance says: be careful in using the law, execute only in accordance with the crime, guard against robbers and thieves, prohibit treachery and evil, put the herdsmen in order, be careful about storing and gathering, repair city walls, mend breaches, block byways, stop ditches, stop flowing water, dam streams and valleys, guard village gates, display arms and armor, select the hundred officials, and execute the lawless.

北方之極，自九澤窮夏晦之極，北至令正之谷，有凍寒積冰、雪雹霜霰、漂潤群水之野，顓頊、玄冥之所司者，萬二千里。其令曰：申群禁，固閉藏，修障塞，繕關梁，禁外徙，斷罰刑，殺當罪，閉關閭，大搜客，止交遊，禁夜樂，蚤閉晏開，以塞姦人，已德，執之必固。天節已幾，刑殺無赦，雖有盛尊之親，斷以法度。毋行水，毋發藏，毋釋罪。

The north extreme goes from the Nine Marshes, through the extreme of Xiahui, north to the valley of Lingzheng, with frozen cold and piled ice, snow, hail, frost and sleet, and the wilds where water floats and soaks, which Zhuanxu and Xuanming govern, twelve thousand li. Its ordinance says: reaffirm the various prohibitions, make closing and storing firm, repair barriers and fortresses, repair passes and bridges, forbid migration outward, decide punishments, execute those who deserve it, close passes and gates, search thoroughly for outside guests, stop social visits, forbid night music, close early and open late, to block treacherous people; once one has caught them, hold them firmly. The season of Heaven is nearing its end; punishment and execution are not to be pardoned; even if there is a most honored relative, decide according to the law. Do not let water run, do not dig up what is stored, and do not release guilty persons.

孟春與孟秋為合，仲春與仲秋為合，季春與季秋為合，孟夏與孟冬為合，仲夏與仲冬為合，季夏與季冬為合。孟春始贏，孟秋始縮；仲春始出，仲秋始內；季春大出，季秋大內；孟夏始緩，孟冬始急；仲夏至修，仲冬至短；季夏德畢，季冬刑畢。故正月失政，七月涼風不至；二月失政，八月雷不藏；三月失政，九月不下霜；四月失政，十月不凍；五月失政，十一月蟄蟲冬出其鄉；六月失政，十二月草木不脫；七月失政，正月大寒不解；八月失政，二月雷不發；九月失政，三月春風不濟；十月失政，四月草木不實；十一月失政，五月下雹霜；十二月失政，六月五穀疾狂。春行夏令洩，行秋令水，行冬令肅。夏行春令風，行秋令蕪，行冬令格。秋行夏令華，行春令榮，行冬令耗。冬行春令洩，行夏令旱，行秋令霧。

The first month of spring and the first month of autumn correspond to each other; the second month of spring and the second month of autumn; the third month of spring and the third month of autumn; the first month of summer and the first month of winter; the second month of summer and the second month of winter; and the third month of summer and the third month of winter. The first month of spring begins to have surplus and the first month of autumn begins to contract; the second month of spring begins to go out and the second month of autumn begins to take in; the third month of spring is the great going out and the third month of autumn is the great taking in; the first month of summer begins to slacken and the first month of winter begins to tighten; the second month of summer has the longest days and the second month of winter the shortest; the third month of summer completes virtue and the third month of winter completes punishment. Therefore if government fails in the first month, the cool wind does not arrive in the seventh month; if it fails in the second month, thunder does not withdraw in the eighth month; if it fails in the third month, frost does not fall in the ninth month; if it fails in the fourth month, there is no freezing in the tenth month; if it fails in the fifth month, hibernating insects leave their homes in winter in the eleventh month; if it fails in the sixth month, plants and trees do not shed in the twelfth month; if it fails in the seventh month, the great cold does not thaw in the first month; if it fails in the eighth month, thunder does not sound in the second month; if it fails in the ninth month, spring wind does not stop in the third month; if it fails in the tenth month, plants and trees do not bear fruit in the fourth month; if it fails in the eleventh month, hail and frost fall in the fifth month; if it fails in the twelfth month, the five grains are frantic in the sixth month. In spring, carrying out the summer ordinances causes leakage, autumn ordinances cause flood, winter ordinances cause severity. In summer, carrying out the spring ordinances causes wind, autumn ordinances cause weeds, winter ordinances cause obstruction. In autumn, carrying out the summer ordinances causes blossoming, spring ordinances cause flourishing, winter ordinances cause depletion. In winter, carrying out the spring ordinances causes leakage, summer ordinances cause drought, autumn ordinances cause fog.

制度陰陽，大制有六度：天為繩，地為準，春為規，夏為衡，秋為矩，冬為權。繩者，所以繩萬物也。準者，所以準萬物也。規者，所以員萬物也。衡者，所以平萬物也。矩者，所以方萬物也。權者，所以權萬物也。繩之為度也，直而不爭，脩而不窮，久而不弊，遠而不忘，與天合德，與神合明，所欲則得，所惡則亡，自古及今，不可移匡，厥德孔密，廣大以容，是故上帝以為物宗。準之為度也，平而不險，均而不阿，廣大以容，寬裕以和，柔而不剛，銳而不挫，流而不滯，易而不穢，發通而有紀，周密而不洩，準平而不失，萬物皆平，民無險謀，怨惡不生，是故上帝以為物平。規之為度也，轉而不復，員而不垸，優而不縱，廣大以寬，感動有理，發通有紀，優優簡簡，百怨不起，規度不失，生氣乃理。衡之為度也，緩而不後，平而不怨，施而不德，弔而不責，當平民祿，以繼不足，絎絎陽陽，唯德是行，養長化育，萬物蕃昌，以成五穀，以實封疆，其政不失，天地乃明。矩之為度也，肅而不悖，剛而不憒，取而無怨，內而無害，威厲而不懾，令行而不廢，殺伐既得，仇敵乃克，矩正不失，百誅乃服。權之為度也，急而不贏，殺而不割，充滿以實，周密而不洩，敗物而弗取，罪殺而不赦，誠信以必，堅愨以固，糞除苛慝，不可以曲，故冬正將行，必弱以強，必柔以剛，權正而不失，萬物乃藏。明堂之制，靜而法準，動而法繩，春治以規，秋治以矩，冬治以權，夏治以衡，是故燥溼寒暑以節至，甘雨膏露以時降。

In regulating yin and yang, there are six great standards: Heaven is the marking line, Earth is the leveling gauge, spring is the compass, summer is the balance beam, autumn is the carpenter's square, and winter is the weight. The marking line is what binds the myriad things. The leveling gauge is what levels the myriad things. The compass is what makes the myriad things round. The balance beam is what evens out the myriad things. The square is what makes the myriad things square. The weight is what weighs the myriad things. The marking line as a standard is straight without contending, long without running out, lasting without decay, far without being forgotten; it unites its virtue with Heaven and its brightness with the spirits; what is wanted is obtained and what is hated is lost, and from ancient times until now it cannot be shifted or corrected; its virtue is very fine, vast yet able to contain, and so the Lord on High takes it as the ancestor of things. The leveling gauge as a standard is level and not steep, even and not partial, vast and able to contain, ample and harmonious, soft and not hard, sharp and not blunted, flowing and not stagnant, plain and not foul, open and with order, thorough and without leakage; the gauge is level and does not err, so all things are level, the people have no treacherous schemes and resentment and hatred do not arise, and so the Lord on High takes it as the leveler of things. The compass as a standard turns without returning, is round without being fawning, is generous without license, vast and broad, moves with principle, opens with order, easygoing and simple, so that a hundred grievances do not arise; when the compass-measure is not lost, the vital qi is set in order. The balance beam as a standard is slow without lagging behind, level without inviting resentment, gives without claiming virtue, offers condolences without demanding anything, matches the common people's salaries, and supplies what is lacking; it is broad and bright, practicing only virtue, nurturing, growing and transforming, so that the myriad things flourish, the five grains are brought to fruition and the borders are filled; when its government is not lost, Heaven and Earth are bright. The square as a standard is stern without being perverse, firm without confusion, takes without inviting resentment, receives without harming, is awe-inspiring without making people cower excessively, its orders are carried out without being dropped, killing and attacking are done rightly, enemies are conquered; when the square is true and not lost, the hundred punishments are accepted. The weight as a standard is urgent without excess, kills without tearing apart, is full and solid, thorough and without leakage, ruins things yet does not take them, does not pardon those whose crimes deserve death, is sincere and certain to be carried out, firm and secure, sweeping away harsh evil, and cannot be bent; therefore when winter's rectification is about to be carried out, it must go from weak to strong and from soft to hard, and when the weight is true and does not err, the myriad things are shut and stored. In the institutions of the Bright Hall, in stillness one takes the leveling gauge as model, and in movement one takes the marking line as model; in spring one governs by the compass, in autumn by the square, in winter by the weight, and in summer by the balance; so dryness and moisture, cold and heat arrive in due measure, and sweet rain and rich dew fall in due season.

昔者，師曠奏白雪之音，而神物為之下降，風雨暴至。平公癃病，晉國赤地。庶女叫天，雷電下擊，景公臺隕，支體傷折，海水大出。夫瞽師、庶女，位賤尚葈，權輕飛羽，然而專精厲意，委務積神，上通九天，激厲至精。由此觀之，上天之誅也，雖在壙虛幽間，遼遠隱匿，重襲石室，界障險阻，其無所逃之亦明矣。

In the past, Music Master Kuang played the sound of 'White Snow,' and divine beings descended because of it, and wind and rain came violently. Duke Ping developed a wasting illness, and the land of Jin turned barren. A commoner woman cried out to Heaven, and lightning struck down; Duke Jing's terrace collapsed, his limbs were broken, and the sea waters surged out. A blind musician and a commoner woman were as lowly as weeds, their authority as light as a flying feather, yet by concentrating their essence and sharpening their will, putting aside affairs and gathering their spirit, they reached up to the Nine Heavens and stirred the utmost essence. From this it is seen that the punishment of Heaven, even if one is in empty and secluded places, far away and hidden, within layered stone chambers or barriers and dangerous passes, has nowhere to escape, and this is clear.

武王伐紂，渡於孟津，陽侯之波，逆流而擊，疾風晦冥，人馬不相見。於是武王左操黃鉞，右秉白旄，瞋目而捴之曰：“餘任天下，誰敢害吾意者！”於是，風濟而波罷。魯陽公與韓構難，戰酣日暮，援戈而捴之，日為之反三舍。夫全性保真，不虧其身，遭急迫難，精通於天。若乃未始出其宗者，何為而不成！夫死生同域，不可脅陵，勇武一人，為三軍雄。彼直求名耳，而能自要者尚猶若此，又況夫宮天地，懷萬物，而友造化，含至和，直偶於人形，觀九鑽一，知之所不知，而心未嘗死者乎！

When King Wu attacked Zhou, he crossed the river at Mengjin, and the waves of the Lord of Yang struck against the current, a fierce wind darkened everything, and men and horses could not see one another. King Wu held the yellow battle-axe in his left hand and the white yak-tail banner in his right, glared and waved it, saying: "I bear the world; who dares obstruct my intention!" The wind stopped and the waves subsided. Duke Luyang, in enmity and war with Han, was in the thick of battle as the sun set; he picked up his spear and waved it, and the sun turned back three lodgings. Those who preserve their nature and hold to what is true, without damaging themselves, meeting urgent difficulty, are in communication with Heaven. As for those who have never left that source, what could they not accomplish! Death and life are in one realm and cannot be threatened or insulted; a man of martial courage can be the hero of the three armies. Those men were merely seeking fame, and if those who bound themselves by their own pledge are like this, how much more is one who takes Heaven and Earth as his house, embraces the myriad things, befriends the Creator, holds utmost harmony, who only happens for a while to take the form of a human being, who observes the nine and delves into the one, who knows what is unknown, and whose mind has never died!

昔雍門子以哭見於孟嘗君，已而陳辭通意，撫心發聲。孟嘗君為之增欷歍唈，流涕狼戾不可止。精神形於內，而外諭哀於人心，此不傳之道。使俗人不得其君形者而效其容，必為人笑。故蒲且子之連鳥於百仞之上，而詹何之騖魚於大淵之中，此皆得清淨之道，太浩之和也。夫物類之相應，玄妙深微，知不能論，辯不能解，故東風至而酒湛溢，蠶咡絲而商弦絕，或感之也。畫隨灰而月運闕，鯨魚死而彗星出，或動之也。故聖人在位，懷道而不言，澤及萬民。君臣乖心，則背譎見於天，神氣相應，徵矣。故山雲草莽，水雲魚鱗，旱雲煙火，涔雲波水，各象其形類，所以感之。

In the past, Master Yongmen went to see Lord Mengchang with weeping; afterward he set out his words, conveyed his meaning, and struck up a sound from his heart. Lord Mengchang therefore grew more and more sobbing and choked, and tears streamed unstoppably. Spirit took shape within, and outside conveyed grief to people's hearts; this is a way that cannot be taught. If a common person who has not got that spirit within imitates its outward appearance, he will surely be laughed at. So Pu Qiezi could entangle birds from a height of a hundred ren, and Zhan He could drive fish in a great deep; all of this is obtaining the Way of purity and stillness and the harmony of the great vastness. Things of a kind respond to one another, so profound and subtle that wisdom cannot discuss it and argument cannot explain it; thus when the east wind comes, wine overflows, and when silkworms spin silk, the shang string snaps; perhaps this is because of some stimulus. When one draws with ash, the lunar halo is incomplete; when a whale dies, a comet appears; perhaps this is because of some movement. So when a sage is in position, holding the Way and not speaking, his kindness reaches the myriad people. When ruler and ministers are estranged in heart, strange omens appear in the sky; spirit and qi respond to one another, and the verification is clear. So mountain clouds look like grasses, water clouds look like fish scales, drought clouds look like smoke and fire, and clouds of standing water look like waves of water, each resembling its own kind; this is how stimulus and response work.

夫陽燧取火於日，方諸取露於月，天地之間，巧曆不能舉其數，手徽忽怳，不能覽其光，然以掌握之中，引類於太極之上，而水火可立致者，陰陽同氣相動也。此傅說之所以騎辰尾也。故至陰飂々，至陽赫赫，兩者交接成和，而萬物生焉。眾雄而無雌，又何化之所能造乎？所謂不言之辯，不道之道也。故召遠者使無為焉，親近者使無事焉，惟夜行者為能有之。故卻走馬以糞，而車軌不接於遠方之外，是謂坐馳陸沈，晝冥宵明，以冬鑠膠，以夏造冰。夫道者，無私就也，無私去也。能者有餘，拙者不足，順之者利，逆之者兇。譬如隋侯之珠，和氏之璧，得之者富，失之者貧，得失之度，深微窈冥，難以知論，不可以辯說也。何以知其然？今夫地黃主屬骨，而甘草主生肉之藥也，以其屬骨，責其生肉，以其生肉，論其屬骨，是猶王孫綽之慾倍偏枯之藥，而欲以生殊死之人，亦可謂失論矣！

The burning-mirror takes fire from the sun, and the moon-mirror takes dew from the moon; between Heaven and Earth, those skilled in calendar calculation cannot list all their numbers, and the hand cannot take in their light in the faint and indistinct, yet in the grasp, by drawing things of the same kind from above the Supreme Ultimate, water and fire can be summoned at once; this is yin and yang of the same qi moving each other. This is why Fu Yue rode on the tail of the Chen constellation. So utmost yin is cold and rustling and utmost yang is blazing, and when the two meet they form harmony, and the myriad things are born. If there were many males and no females, what transformation could they bring about? This is what is called the argument without words and the Way that is not spoken. So to call those far away, one makes them do nothing; for those near, one makes them have nothing to do; only one who travels at night can keep it. So one turns back the galloping horses to fertilize the fields, and cart tracks do not extend beyond far lands; this is called sitting while racing, dry land sinking, daylight dark and night bright, winter melting glue and summer making ice. The Way has none who come to it privately and none who leave it privately. The able have a surplus, the clumsy fall short; if one follows its benefit one prospers, if one goes against it one meets misfortune. It is like the pearl of Marquis Sui or the jade of He: those who obtain it are rich, those who lose it are poor, and the measure of gain and loss is deep, subtle and obscure, hard to discuss with knowledge and not to be explained by argument. How do we know this is so? Now rehmannia is the medicine for joining bones, and licorice is the medicine for growing flesh; if one blames it for joining bones on the basis of its growing flesh, or discusses its joining of bones on the basis of its growing flesh, it is like Wangsun Chuo wanting to double the medicine for hemiplegia in order to revive someone who is completely dead, which can also be called losing the argument!

若夫以火能焦木也，因使銷金，則道行矣。若以慈石能運鐵也，而求其引瓦，則難矣。物固不可以輕重論也。夫燧之取火於日，慈石之引鐵，蟹之敗漆，葵之鄉日，雖有明智，弗能然也。故耳目之察，不足以分物理；心意之論，不足以定是非。故以智為治者，難以持國，唯通於太和，而持自然之應者，為能有之。故嶢山崩而薄落之水涸，區冶生而淳鉤之劍成。紂為無道，左強在側；太公並世，故武王之功立。由是觀之，利害之路，禍福之門，不可求而得也。

As for taking fire's ability to scorch wood and so using it to melt metal, that is workable by the Way. But if one takes the loadstone's ability to move iron and then asks it to attract tiles, that is difficult. Things cannot in principle be discussed by weight. The burning-mirror takes fire from the sun, the loadstone attracts iron, crabs ruin lacquer, and sunflowers turn toward the sun; even a wise person cannot explain why. So what ears and eyes observe is not enough to distinguish the principles of things, and what the mind discusses is not enough to determine right and wrong. So those who govern by wisdom find it hard to hold a state; only those who penetrate the great harmony and hold to natural response can keep it. So when Mount Yao collapsed, the water of Boluo dried up, and when Ou Ye was born, the Chunjun sword was made. Zhou was without the Way and Zuo Qiang was at his side; Taigong lived at the same time, and so King Wu's achievement was established. From this we see that the road of benefit and harm and the gate of misfortune and fortune cannot be obtained by force.

夫道之與德，若韋之與革，遠之則邇，近之則遠。不得其道，若觀鯈魚。故聖若鏡，不將不迎，應而不藏，故萬化而無傷。其得之，乃失之；其失之，非乃得之也。今失調弦者，叩宮宮應，彈角角動，此同聲相和者也。夫有改調一弦，其於五音無所比，鼓之而二十五絃皆應，此未始異於聲，而音之君已形也。故通於太和者，昏若純醉而甘臥以遊其中，而不知其所由至也。

The Way and virtue are like soft hide and tanned leather: the farther you are from it, the nearer it becomes; the nearer you are to it, the farther it becomes. One who does not grasp its Way is like watching a fleeting fish. So the sage is like a mirror, neither sending off nor welcoming, responding without storing, and so is transformed ten thousand times without being hurt. When he has got it, it is as if he has lost it; when he has lost it, it is not that he has got it again. Now one who tunes a stringed instrument, when he strikes the gong string, the gong responds, and when he plucks the jiao string, the jiao moves; this is the harmony of like sounds. If someone changes the tuning of one string so that it matches none of the five notes, and then plucks it, all twenty-five strings respond; this is not a failure to be the same sound, but the ruler of notes has taken form. So one who penetrates the great harmony is dim like one completely drunk, content to lie down and roam within it, without knowing where it comes from.

純溫以淪，鈍悶以終，若未始出其宗，是謂大通。今夫赤螭、青虯之遊冀州也，天清地定，毒獸不作，飛鳥不駭，入榛薄，食薦梅，噆味含甘，步不出頃畝之區，而蛇鱔輕之，以為不能與之爭於江海之中。若乃至於玄雲之素朝，陰陽交爭，降扶風，雜凍雨，扶搖而登之，威動天地，聲震海內，蛇鱔著泥百仞之中，熊羆匍匐丘山盤巖，虎豹襲穴而不敢咆，猿狖顛蹶而失木枝，又況直蛇鱔之類乎！鳳凰之翔至德也，雷霆不作，風雨不興，川穀不澹，草木不搖，而燕雀佼之，以為不能與之爭於宇宙之間。還至其曾逝萬仞之上，翱翔四海之外，過昆侖之疏圃，飲砥柱之湍瀨，邅回蒙泛之渚，尚佯冀州之際，徑躡都廣，入日抑節，羽翼弱水，暮宿風穴，當此之時，鴻鵠鶬鸖莫不憚驚伏竄，注喙江裔，又況直燕雀之類乎！此明於小動之跡，而不知大節之所由者也。

Pure, warm and sinking, dull and obscure to the end, as if never having left that source: this is called great penetration. Now the red hornless dragon and the green dragon roam over Jizhou, the sky is clear and the earth settled, poisonous beasts do not act, flying birds are not startled; they enter thickets, eat dense plum, chew and taste the sweet, and their steps do not go beyond an area of a few mu; snakes and eels look down on them, thinking they cannot contend with them in the rivers and seas. But when dark clouds gather in the morning, yin and yang struggle with each other, a whirlwind descends mixed with freezing rain, and they mount the whirlwind and rise, their might shakes Heaven and Earth and their sound shakes the seas, snakes and eels cling in mud a hundred ren deep, bears and brown bears crawl on hills and rocks, tigers and leopards hide in their burrows and dare not roar, apes and monkeys stumble and lose their branches; how much more so the whole class of snakes and eels! When the phoenix soars in the age of utmost virtue, thunder does not stir, wind and rain do not arise, streams and valleys do not overflow, grass and trees do not sway, and swallows and sparrows are proud, thinking they cannot contend with it in the universe. But when it flies high above ten thousand ren and soars beyond the four seas, passing the Garden of Kunlun and drinking from the rapids at Dizhu, lingering at the isles of Mengfan and roaming at the edge of Jizhou, directly treading over Duguang, entering the place where the sun sets, lowering its pace, with its wings on the Weak Water and roosting at dusk in the Wind Cave, at that time swans, cranes and storks all cower in fright, hiding and scattering, pointing their beaks toward the riverbank; how much more so the whole class of swallows and sparrows! This is the case of those who understand the traces of small movements but do not know where great restraint comes from.

昔者王良、造父之禦也，上車攝轡，馬為整齊而斂諧，投足調均，勞逸若一，心怡氣和，體便輕畢，安勞樂進，馳騖若滅，左右若鞭，周旋若環，世皆以為巧，然未見其貴者也。若夫鉗且、大丙之禦，除轡銜，去鞭棄策，車莫動而自舉，馬莫使而自走也，日行月動，星耀而玄運，電奔而鬼騰，進退屈伸，不見朕垠，故不招指，不咄叱，過歸雁於碣石，軼鶤雞於姑餘，騁若飛，騖若絕，縱矢躡風，追猋歸忽，朝發榑桑，日入落棠，此假弗用而能以成其用也。非慮思之察，手爪之巧也，嗜慾形於胸中，而精神逾於六馬，此以弗禦禦之者也。

In the past, when Wang Liang and Zaofu drove carriages, as they mounted and took the reins, the horses became orderly, restrained and harmonious, their steps well matched, effort and rest equal; with their hearts at ease and qi harmonious, their bodies light, comfortable in toil and glad to advance, their racing seemed to vanish; left and right seemed to have whips, and turning about seemed like a ring. People of the world all thought it clever, but had not yet seen what is truly precious. As for when Qianqie and Dabing drove, they removed the reins and bits and dropped the whips and goads; the carriage rose by itself without anyone moving it, and the horses walked by themselves without anyone driving them, the sun moved and the moon shifted, stars glittered and heaven turned, lightning raced and ghosts leaped, advancing, retreating, bending and stretching without any sign or limit to be seen; so they did not wave or point, did not shout, outran returning geese at Jieshi and surpassed the kunji bird at Guyu; they galloped as if flying and rushed as if cut off, following the arrow, treading on the wind, chasing the gale, and returning into the faint; starting in the morning from Fusang, they reached Luotang by sunset. This is borrowing from not using to accomplish its use. It is not the discernment of thought or the skill of hand and claw. Desires take shape in the chest, and the spirit surpasses the six horses; this is one who drives by not driving.

昔者黃帝治天下，而力牧、太山稽輔之，以治日月之行律，治陰陽之氣，節四時之度，正律曆之數，別男女，異雌雄，明上下，等貴賤，使強不掩弱，眾不寡，人民保命而不夭，歲時孰而不兇，百官正而無私，上下調而無尤，法令明而不暗，輔佐公而不阿，田者不侵畔，漁者不爭隈。道不拾遺，市不豫賈，城郭不關，邑無盜賊，鄙旅之人相讓以財，狗彘吐菽粟於路，而無仇爭之心。於是日月精明，星辰不失其行，風雨時節，五穀登孰，虎狼不妄噬，鷙鳥不塾搏，鳳皇翔於庭，麒麟遊於郊，青龍進駕，飛黃伏皂，諸北、儋耳之國，莫不獻其貢職，然猶未及虙戲氏之道也。

In the past, when the Yellow Emperor governed the world, Li Mu and Taishan Ji assisted him in regulating the movements of sun and moon, regulating the qi of yin and yang, setting the measures of the four seasons, correcting the numbers of the pitch-pipes and calendar, distinguishing male and female, setting apart male and female animals, marking high and low, and grading noble and humble, so that the strong did not overwhelm the weak and the many did not do violence to the few, people preserved their lives without dying early, the seasons ripened without failure, the hundred officials were upright and without selfishness, high and low were in harmony without resentment, laws and orders were clear and not dark, assistants were fair and not partial, farmers did not encroach on field boundaries, and fishermen did not fight over the curved banks. On the roads no one picked up what was lost, in the market no one raised prices in advance, city gates were not shut, there were no thieves in the towns, border travelers yielded property to one another, and dogs and pigs spat out beans and millet on the road without any spirit of strife. Then sun and moon were bright, the stars did not lose their courses, wind and rain came in season, the five grains ripened, tigers and wolves did not bite wantonly, birds of prey did not strike without cause, phoenixes soared in the courtyard and qilin roamed in the suburbs, the green dragon came into the harness and the flying yellow steed lay in the stable, and the states of the Zhubei and Danger had none that did not present tribute; yet it still did not match the Way of Fuxi.

往古之時，四極廢，九州裂，天不兼覆，地不周載，火爁炎而不滅，水浩洋而不息，猛獸食顓民，鷙鳥攫老弱，於是女媧煉五色石以補蒼天，斷鼇足以立四極。殺黑龍以濟冀州，積蘆灰以止淫水。蒼天補，四極正，淫水涸，冀州平，狡蟲死，顓民生。背方州，抱圓天，和春陽夏，殺秋約冬，枕方寢繩，陰陽之所壅沈不通者，竅理之；逆氣戾物，傷民厚積者，絕止之。當此之時，臥倨倨，興眄眄，一自以為馬，一自以為牛，其行蹎蹎，其視瞑瞑，侗然皆得其和，莫知所由生，浮游不知所求，魍魎不知所往。當此之時，禽獸蝮蛇，無不匿其爪牙，藏其螫毒，無有攫噬之心。考其功烈，上際九天，下契黃壚，名聲被後世，光暉重萬物。乘雷車，服駕應龍，驂青虯，援絕瑞，席蘿圖，黃雲絡，前白螭，後奔蛇，浮游消搖，道鬼神，登九天，朝帝於靈門，宓穆休於太宜之下。然而不彰其功，不揚其聲，隱真人之道，以從天地之固然。何則？道德上通，而智故消滅也。

In ancient times, the four poles collapsed and the nine regions split apart; Heaven could not cover all, Earth could not carry all; fire raged and did not go out, water flooded and did not stop; fierce beasts ate the good people and birds of prey seized the old and weak. Then Nuwa smelted five-colored stones to patch the azure sky, cut off the feet of the great turtle to set up the four poles, killed the black dragon to rescue Jizhou, and piled up reed ashes to stop the flood. The azure sky was patched, the four poles were straightened, the flood dried up, Jizhou was at peace, the cunning creatures died, and the good people lived. She carried the square regions on her back and embraced the round heaven, harmonized spring and warmed summer, brought autumn to its end and bound winter; pillowing on the square and sleeping on the marking line, she opened up what yin and yang had clogged and blocked, and cut off the rebellious qi that harmed things and harmed people and had built up thickly. At that time, people lay down relaxed and rose with gazing eyes, one moment thinking themselves horses and the next thinking themselves oxen; they walked stumbling and looked with half-closed eyes, all simple and in harmony, not knowing where they came from, drifting without knowing what they sought, wandering like spirits without knowing where they went. At that time birds, beasts and vipers all hid their claws and fangs and hid their stings and poison, with no heart to seize or bite. Examine her merit: above it reached the Nine Heavens, below it joined the Yellow Springs; her name covers later ages and her radiance overlays the myriad things. She rode a thunder chariot, drove the winged dragon, with green dragons as outriders, held the supreme jade token and spread the map of vines, yellow clouds wound about her, with a white hornless dragon in front and galloping serpents behind, drifting at ease, guiding spirits, ascending the Nine Heavens, paying court to the Lord at the Spirit Gate, and resting peacefully beneath the Taiyi. Yet she did not display her merit or publicize her fame, hid the way of the true person, and followed the natural course of Heaven and Earth. Why? When Way and virtue reach upward, wisdom and cleverness are extinguished.

逮至夏桀之時，主暗晦而不明，道瀾漫而不修，棄捐五帝之恩刑，推蹶三王之法籍。是以至德滅而不揚，帝道掩而不興，舉事戾蒼天，發號逆四時，春秋縮其和，天地除其德，仁君處位而不安，大夫隱道而不言，群臣準上意而懷當，疏骨肉而自容，邪人參耦比周而陰謀，居君臣父子之間，而競載驕主而像其意，亂人以成其事。是故君臣乖而不親，骨肉疏而不附，植社槁而墵裂，容臺振而掩覆，犬群嗥而入淵，豕銜蓐而席澳，美人挐道墨面而不容，曼聲吞炭內閉而不歌，喪不盡其哀，獵不聽其樂，西老折勝，黃神嘯吟，飛鳥鎩翼，走獸廢腳，山無峻幹，澤無窪水，狐狸首穴，馬牛放失，田無立禾，路無莎薠，金積折廉，璧襲無理，磬龜無腹，蓍策日施。

By the time of Jie of Xia, the ruler was dim and unclear, the Way was loose and not cultivated; he abandoned the kindness and punishments of the Five Emperors and overturned the laws and records of the Three Kings. Then utmost virtue was extinguished and not displayed, the Emperor's Way was covered and did not arise; affairs were done contrary to Heaven and commands issued against the four seasons; spring and autumn drew back their harmony, and Heaven and Earth removed their virtue; benevolent rulers in position were uneasy, high officers hid the Way and did not speak, ministers guessed their ruler's mind and sought to match it in their hearts, estranged blood relatives in order to preserve themselves, and wicked men formed pairs and cliques and plotted, placed between ruler and minister, father and son, vying to carry a proud ruler on their backs and imitate his will, disordering people in order to accomplish their own purposes. So ruler and ministers drifted apart and were not close, flesh and blood were estranged and did not cleave, the altar tree that was set up withered and split, the Rong Platform shook and collapsed, dogs howled in packs and entered the abyss, pigs carried straw in their mouths and spread it by the water's edge; beautiful women pulled at their hair and blackened their faces and did not adorn themselves, singers swallowed charcoal, shut within, and did not sing; funerals were without full grief and hunting was without its music; the Queen Mother of the West broke her ornaments, the Yellow Spirit whistled and groaned, flying birds broke their wings and running beasts lost the use of their legs; mountains had no towering main peaks, marshes had no standing water, foxes drew their heads into their dens, horses and oxen were let loose and lost, there was no standing grain in the fields and no sedge on the roads; bronze vessels piled up and their corners broke, jade discs overlapped and had no grain, chime stones and tortoises had no belly, and milfoil stalks were used every day.

晚世之時，七國異族，諸侯製法，各殊習俗，縱橫間之，舉兵而相角，攻城濫殺，覆高危安，掘墳墓，揚人骸，大沖車，高重京，除戰道，便死路，犯嚴敵，殘不義，百往一反，名聲苟盛也。是故質壯輕足者為甲卒，千里之外，家老羸弱，悽愴於內，廝徒馬圉，軵車奉饟，道路遼遠，霜雪亟集，短褐不完，人羸車弊，泥塗至膝，相攜於道，奮首於路，身枕格而死，所謂兼國有地者，伏屍數十萬，破車以千百數，傷弓弩矛戟矢石之創者，扶舉於路，故世至於枕人頭，食人肉，菹人肝，飲人血，甘之於芻豢故。故自三代以後者，天下未嘗得安其情性，而樂其習俗，保其修命，而不夭於人虐也。所以然者何也？諸侯力征，天下不合而為一家。

In the late ages, the seven states were not of one clan, the feudal lords each made their own laws and had different customs, the strategists sowed discord among them, and raised troops to try strength against one another; they attacked cities and killed wantonly, overturned the high and endangered the secure, dug up graves and scattered people's bones, used great battering carriages and heaped up ever higher mounds of corpses, opened battle paths and eased the roads to death, braved strong enemies and destroyed the unrighteous; of a hundred who went forth only one returned, and fame was trivially great. So men of strong frame and light foot became armored soldiers, a thousand li away, while the old and weak at home grieved within; servants and grooms pushed carts and carried provisions on long roads, frost and snow gathered repeatedly, short coarse garments were incomplete, people were thin and carts worn, mud reached the knee, and they supported one another along the road, looking up on the road and dying with their bodies pillowed on the cart rails. Those called the ones who annexed states and held land left dead bodies of several hundred thousand, broken carts by the hundreds and thousands, and those wounded by bows, crossbows, spears, halberds, arrows and stones were carried and supported along the roads; so it came to people pillowing on human heads, eating human flesh, making human livers into pickles and drinking human blood, finding this as sweet as grass-fed and grain-fed meat. So from the Three Dynasties onward, the world has never been able to settle its nature, delight in its customs and keep its lifespan without dying early from human cruelty. Why is this? The feudal lords used force to attack one another and the world was not united as one family.

逮至當今之時，天子在上位，持以道德，輔以仁義，近者獻其智，遠者懷其德，拱揖指麾而四海賓服，春秋冬夏皆獻其貢職，天下混而為一，子孫相代，此五帝之所以迎天德也。夫聖人者，不能生時，時至而弗失也。輔佐有能，黜讒佞之端，息巧辯之說，除刻削之法，去煩苛之事，屏流言之跡，塞朋黨之門，消知能，修太常，隳肢體，絀聰明，大通混冥，解意釋神，漠然若無魂魄，使萬物各複歸其根，則是所修伏犧氏之跡，而反五常之道也。

By the present time, the Son of Heaven is in position, holds it by Way and virtue, assists it by benevolence and righteousness, those near offer wisdom and those far cherish his virtue; with hands folded and a pointing gesture the four seas submit, all four seasons offer tribute, and the world is blended into one, with descendants succeeding one another; this is how the Five Emperors welcomed the virtue of Heaven. The sage cannot produce the time, but when the time comes he does not lose it. He assists the capable, dismisses the beginnings of slander and flattery, stops the arguments of clever debate, removes harsh laws, abolishes vexatious affairs, banishes the traces of rumor, blocks the gate of cliques, extinguishes cleverness, cultivates the great constant, destroys the service of the limbs, reduces keen hearing and sight, penetrates greatly into the dark and merged, unties the intent and releases the spirit, being quiet as if without soul and spirit, letting the myriad things each return to their root; this is the cultivating of the traces of Fuxi, and returning to the Way of the five constants.

夫鉗且、大丙不施轡銜而以善禦聞於天下，伏戲、女媧不設法度而以至德遺於後世。何則？至虛無純一而不𡁕喋苛事也。《周書》曰：“掩雉不得，更順其風。”今若夫申、韓、商鞅之為治也，挬拔其根，蕪棄其本，而不窮究其所由生，何以至此也？鑿五刑，為刻削，乃背道德之本，而爭於錐刀之末，斬艾百姓，殫盡太半，而忻忻然常自以為治，是猶抱薪而救火，鑿竇而出水。夫井植生梓而不容甕，溝植生條而不容舟，不過三月必死。所以然者何也？皆狂生而無其本者也。河九折注於海而流不絕者，崑崙之輸也。潦水不洩，瀇瀁極望，旬月不雨則涸而枯澤，受瀷而無源者。譬若羿請不死之藥於西王母，姮娥竊以奔月，悵然有喪，無以續之。何則？不知不死之藥所由生也。是故乞火不若取燧，寄汲不若鑿井。

Qianqie and Dabing used no reins or bits yet were famous throughout the world for good driving, and Fuxi and Nuwa set no laws or measures yet left their utmost virtue to later ages. Why? Because of utmost emptiness, nothingness and pure oneness, not being petty and fussy about vexing affairs (the source text has a rare character here). The Book of Zhou says: "If you cover and catch a pheasant and cannot get it, change and follow its wind." Now the governance of Shen Buhai, Han Fei and Shang Yang uproots the root and neglects and abandons the foundation, without investigating from which it arises; how did it come to this? They opened up the five punishments and made harsh cutting, and in the end turned away from the root of Way and virtue and contended over the tip of an awl or knife, hacking down the people and finishing off more than half of them, yet delightedly always regarded themselves as governing, like carrying firewood to put out a fire, or digging a hole in order to let water out. An catalpa planted by a well cannot hold a jar, and a branch planted by a ditch cannot hold a boat; within three months it will die. Why? All are wild growth without root. The Yellow River turns nine times and flows into the sea without ceasing because Kunlun is sending it; standing flood water, if not drained, spreads as far as the eye can see, but if it does not rain for ten days or half a month it dries into a dry marsh, because it receives only small water and has no source. It is like Yi asking the Queen Mother of the West for the medicine of immortality, which Heng'e stole and fled to the moon, disappointed as if she had lost something, with nothing with which to continue. Why? She did not know where the medicine of immortality is born. So to seek fire it is better to take a burning-mirror, and to borrow and fetch water is not as good as digging a well yourself.