Chapter: Zhongni (Confucius)

仲尼閒居，子貢入侍，而有憂色。子貢不敢問，出告顏回，顏回援琴而歌。孔子聞之，果召回入，問曰：「若奚獨樂？」回曰：「夫子奚獨憂？」孔子曰：「先言爾志。」曰：「吾昔聞之夫子曰：『樂天知命故不憂。』回所以樂也。」孔子愀然有閒，曰：「有是言哉？汝之意失矣。此吾昔日之言爾，請以今言為正也。汝徒知樂天知命之無憂，未知樂天知命有憂之大也。今告若其實：修一身，任窮達，知去來之非我，亡變亂於心慮，爾之所謂樂天知命之無憂也。曩吾修《詩》《書》，正禮樂，將以治天下，遺來世，非但修一身，治魯國而已，而魯之君臣日失其序，仁義益衰，情性益薄。此道不行一國與當年，其如天下與來世矣？吾始知《詩》《書》、禮樂無救於治亂，而未知所以革之之方，此樂天知命者之所憂。雖然，吾得之矣。夫樂而知者，非古人之所謂樂知也。無樂無知，是真樂真知，故無所不樂，無所不知，無所不憂，無所不為。《詩》《書》、禮樂，何棄之有？革之何為？」顏回北面拜手曰：「回亦得之矣。」出告子貢。子貢茫然自失，歸家淫思七日，不寢不食，以至骨立。顏回重往喻之，乃反丘門，絃歌誦書，終身不輟。

Zhongni was at leisure at home, and Zigong went in to attend him and saw that he looked worried. Zigong did not dare ask, and went out and told Yan Hui, and Yan Hui took up his zither and sang. Confucius heard it, and indeed called him in and asked: "Why are you happy by yourself?" Hui said: "Master, why are you worried by yourself?" Confucius said: "First tell me your aim." Hui said: "Formerly I heard the Master say: 'One who delights in Heaven and knows his fate has no worries.' This is why I am happy." Confucius looked sad for a while and said: "Is that so? Your meaning is mistaken. That was merely what I said in the past; please take what I now say as correct. You only know that one who delights in Heaven and knows his fate has no worries; you do not know that delighting in Heaven and knowing fate has great worries. Now I will tell you the truth: cultivating oneself, letting poverty and success take their course, knowing that going and coming are not up to me, with no turmoil in the heart, this is what you call the freedom from worry of delighting in Heaven and knowing fate. In the past I edited the Odes and the Documents and set right the rites and music, intending to use them to govern the world and leave them to later ages; it was not merely to cultivate myself and govern Lu, yet the ruler and ministers of Lu were losing order day by day, benevolence and righteousness declined further, and human nature grew thinner. This Way could not be practiced in one state or in my own time, so how could it be used for the world and later ages? Only then did I know that the Odes, Documents, rites and music cannot save the world from disorder, yet I still did not know the method of reform; this is the worry of one who delights in Heaven and knows fate. Even so, I have grasped it. That which delights and knows is not what the ancients called delighting and knowing. No delight and no knowledge is true delight and true knowledge, and so there is nothing it does not delight in, nothing it does not know, nothing it does not worry about, nothing it does not do. The Odes, Documents, rites and music, why need they be cast aside? And what would reform accomplish?" Yan Hui faced north, bowed with joined hands and said: "I have understood." He went out and told Zigong. Zigong was dazed and lost, and went home to ponder for seven days, not sleeping or eating, until he was nothing but bones. Yan Hui went again to enlighten him, and only then did he return to Confucius's school, playing strings, singing and reciting the books, and never stopped for the rest of his life."

陳大夫聘魯，私見叔孫氏。叔孫氏曰：「吾國有聖人。」曰：「非孔丘邪？」曰：「是也。」「何以知其聖乎？」叔孫氏曰：「吾常聞之顏回曰：『孔丘能廢心而用形。』」陳大夫曰：「吾國亦有聖人，子弗知乎？」曰：「聖人孰謂？」曰：「老聃之弟子有亢倉子者，得聃之道，能以耳視而目聽。」魯侯聞之大驚，使上卿厚禮而致之。亢倉子應聘而至，魯侯卑辭請問之。亢倉子曰：「傳之者妄。我能視聽不用耳目，不能易耳目之用。」魯侯曰：「此增異矣。其道奈何？寡人終願聞之。」亢倉子曰：「我體合於心，心合於氣，氣合於神，神合於無。其有介然之有，唯然之音，雖遠在八荒之外，近在眉睫之內，來幹我者，我必知之。乃不知是我七孔四支之所覺，心腹六藏之所知，其自知而已矣。」魯侯大悅。他日以告仲尼，仲尼笑而不答。

A grandee of Chen came on a mission to Lu and privately met Shusun. Shusun said: "My country has a sage." He asked: "Is it not Kong Qiu?" He said: "It is." "How do you know he is a sage?" Shusun said: "I often heard Yan Hui say: 'Kong Qiu can discard the mind and use the body.'" The grandee of Chen said: "My country also has a sage; do you not know?" He asked: "Who is the sage you mean?" He said: "Among Lao Dan's disciples there is Kangcangzi, who attained Dan's Way and can see with his ears and hear with his eyes." The Marquis of Lu heard this and was greatly astonished, and sent a chief minister with generous gifts to invite him. Kangcangzi came in response to the summons, and the Marquis of Lu asked him humbly. Kangcangzi said: "Those who passed it on were mistaken. I can see and hear without using ears and eyes, but I cannot change what ears and eyes are used for." The Marquis of Lu said: "This is even stranger. What is that Way like? I would like to hear it at last." Kangcangzi said: "My body accords with my mind, my mind accords with qi, my qi accords with spirit, and my spirit accords with nothingness. If there is anything that exists, however slight, or any sound, however faint, even if it is beyond the eight wilds far away or within the eyelashes near, if it comes to touch me, I will certainly know it. Then I do not know whether it was sensed by my seven orifices and four limbs or known by my heart, belly and six viscera; it is simply self-knowing." The Marquis of Lu was greatly pleased. Another day he told Zhongni, who smiled and did not answer."

商太宰見孔子曰：「丘聖者歟？」孔子曰：「聖則丘何敢，然則丘博學多識者也。」商太宰曰：「三王聖者歟？」孔子曰：「三王善任智勇者，聖則丘弗知。」曰：「五帝聖者歟？」孔子曰：「五帝善任仁義者，聖則丘弗知。」曰：「三皇聖者歟？」孔子曰：「三皇善任因時者，聖則丘弗知。」商太宰大駭，曰：「然則孰者為聖？」孔子動容有閒，曰：「西方之人有聖者焉，不治而不亂，不言而自信，不化而自行，蕩蕩乎民無能名焉。丘疑其為聖，弗知真為聖歟？真不聖歟？」商太宰嘿然心計曰：「孔丘欺我哉！」

The Grand Steward of Shang met Confucius and said: "Are you a sage?" Confucius said: "As to being a sage, how would I dare; but I am one who has studied widely and knows much." The Grand Steward of Shang said: "Were the Three Kings sages?" Confucius said: "The Three Kings were good at employing the wise and brave; as to whether they were sages, I do not know." He asked: "Were the Five Emperors sages?" Confucius said: "The Five Emperors were good at employing the benevolent and righteous; as to whether they were sages, I do not know." He asked: "Were the Three Sovereigns sages?" Confucius said: "The Three Sovereigns were good at employing those who suited the times; as to whether they were sages, I do not know." The Grand Steward of Shang was greatly shocked and said: "Then who is a sage?" Confucius's expression changed and after a while he said: "Among the people of the west there is a sage, who does not govern yet there is no disorder, does not speak yet is trusted, does not transform yet things proceed, vast and boundless, so that the people cannot find a name for him. I suspect he is a sage, but I do not know whether he truly is a sage, or truly is not." The Grand Steward of Shang fell silent and thought to himself: "Kong Qiu is deceiving me!""

子夏問孔子曰：「顏回之為人奚若？」子曰：「回之仁賢於丘也。」曰：「子貢之為人奚若？」子曰：「賜之辯賢於丘也。」曰：「子路之為人奚若？」子曰：「由之勇賢於丘也。」曰：「子張之為人奚若？」子曰：「師之莊賢於丘也。」子夏避席而問曰：「然則四子者何為事夫子？」曰：「居！吾語汝。夫回能仁而不能反，賜能辯而不能訥，由能勇而不能怯，師能莊而不能同。兼四子之有以易吾，吾弗許也。此其所以事吾而不貳也。」

Zixia asked Confucius: "What kind of person is Yan Hui?" Confucius said: "Hui's benevolence surpasses mine." He asked: "What kind of person is Zigong?" Confucius said: "Ci's eloquence surpasses mine." He asked: "What kind of person is Zilu?" Confucius said: "You's courage surpasses mine." He asked: "What kind of person is Zizhang?" Confucius said: "Shi's dignity surpasses mine." Zixia left his mat and asked: "Then why do these four serve the Master?" Confucius said: "Sit down! I will tell you. Hui can be benevolent but cannot turn back; Ci can be eloquent but cannot be slow of speech; You can be brave but cannot be timid; Shi can be dignified but cannot be at ease with others. If I were offered the combined strengths of the four in exchange for myself, I would not agree. This is why they serve me without wavering.""

子列子既師壺丘子林，友伯昏瞀人，乃居南郭。從之處者，日數而不及。雖然，子列子亦微焉。朝朝相與辯，無不聞。而與南郭子連牆二十年，不相謁請；相遇於道，目若不相見者。門之徒役以為子列子與南郭子有敵不疑。有自楚來者，問子列子曰：「先生與南郭子奚敵？」子列子曰：「南郭子貌充心虛，耳無聞，目無見，口無言，心無知，形無惕。往將奚為？雖然，試與汝偕往。」閱弟子四十人同行。見南郭子，果若欺魄焉，而不可與接。顧視子列子，形神不相偶，而不可與群。南郭子俄而指子列子之弟子末行者與言，衎衎然若專直而在雄者。子列子之徒駭之，反舍，鹹有疑色。子列子曰：「得意者無言，進知者亦無言。用無言為言亦言，無知為知亦知。無言與不言，無知與不知，亦言亦知。亦無所不言，亦無所不知；亦無所言，亦無所知。如斯而已，汝奚妄駭哉？」

Liezi, having already studied under Huqiu Zilin and become friends with Bohun Wuren, lived in the southern outskirts. The people who came to be with him were too many to count each day. Even so, Liezi remained obscure. Day after day they debated with one another, and there was nothing he did not hear. Yet he lived next to Nanguozi, wall by wall, for twenty years without visiting him; when they met on the road, their eyes were as if they did not see each other. The disciples at his gate thought Liezi and Nanguozi were enemies, without the slightest doubt. A man came from Chu and asked Liezi: "Master, why are you at odds with Nanguozi?" Liezi said: "Nanguozi has a full appearance but an empty mind; his ears hear nothing, his eyes see nothing, his mouth says nothing, his mind knows nothing, and his body feels no alarm. What would be the use of going? Even so, let me try going with you." Inspecting his disciples, he chose forty to go together. When they saw Nanguozi, he was indeed like a clay figure, impossible to engage. Turning to look at Liezi, they found form and spirit did not match, and could not be joined in company. After a while Nanguozi pointed at the last disciple in Liezi's row and spoke to him, cheerfully, as though upright and standing in the male position. Liezi's disciples were shocked, and back at the lodging all looked doubtful. Liezi said: "One who has attained his meaning does not speak; one who has advanced in knowledge does not speak either. To take speechlessness as speech is also speech; to take non-knowing as knowing is also knowing. Speechlessness and not speaking, non-knowing and not knowing, are also speech and also knowing. There is nothing it does not say and nothing it does not know; and there is nothing it says and nothing it knows. It is just like this, so why should you be needlessly alarmed?""

子列子學也，三年之後，心不敢念是非，口不敢言利害，始得老商一眄而已。五年之後，心更念是非，口更言利害，老商始一解顏而笑。七年之後，從心之所念，更無是非；從口之所言，更無利害，夫子始一引吾並席而坐。九年之後，橫心之所念，橫口之所言，亦不知我之是非利害歟，亦不知彼之是非利害歟，外內進矣。而後眼如耳，耳如鼻，鼻如口，口無不同。心凝形釋，骨肉都融，不覺形之所倚，足之所履，心之所念，言之所藏。如斯而已，則理無所隱矣。

Liezi said: In his studies, after three years, he did not dare think of right and wrong in his heart or speak of profit and harm with his mouth, and only then did Lao Shang give him a single glance. After five years, he instead thought of right and wrong in his heart and spoke of profit and harm with his mouth, and only then did Lao Shang open his face in a smile. After seven years, letting his heart think as it would, he found no right and wrong; letting his mouth say as it would, he found no profit and harm; and only then did the master pull me to sit beside him on the same mat. After nine years, I let my heart think whatever it would and my mouth say whatever it would, not knowing my own right and wrong, profit and harm, nor knowing those of others, and inside and outside were both used up. Then my eyes were like ears, my ears like a nose, my nose like a mouth, and there was no difference among them. My mind was concentrated and my form dissolved, bones and flesh all melted; I did not feel what my body leaned on, what my feet trod on, what my mind thought, or what my words hid. It was just this, and then principle had nothing left to hide."

初，子列子好遊。壺丘子曰：「禦寇好遊，遊何所好？」列子曰：「遊之樂所玩無故。人之遊也，觀其所見；我之遊也，觀其所變。遊乎遊乎！未有能辨其遊者。」壺丘子曰：「禦寇之遊固與人同歟，而曰固與人異歟？凡所見，亦恆見其變。玩彼物之無故，不知我亦無故。務外遊，不知務內觀。外遊者，求備於物；內觀者，取足於身。取足於身，遊之至也；求備於物，遊之不至也。」於是列子終身不出，自以為不知遊。壺丘子曰：「遊其至乎！至遊者，不知所適；至觀者，不知所眂。物物皆遊矣，物物皆觀矣，是我之所謂遊，是我之所謂觀也。故曰：遊其至矣乎，遊其至矣乎！」

At first, Liezi was fond of traveling. Huqiuzi said: "Yukou is fond of traveling; what is it about traveling that you like?" Liezi said: "The joy of traveling lies in nothing I enjoy becoming stale. Other people travel to look at what they see; I travel to look at what changes. Travel, travel! No one yet can distinguish what traveling is." Huqiuzi said: "Is Yukou's traveling really the same as other people's, and yet you say it is different? Of everything one sees, one always sees its change. To enjoy outer things as never stale is not to know that I too am never stale. You devote yourself to traveling outward and do not know to devote yourself to looking within. Those who travel outward seek completeness in things; those who look within take sufficiency in themselves. To take sufficiency in oneself is the utmost of traveling; to seek completeness in things is traveling that falls short." After that Liezi never went out for the rest of his life, thinking that he did not know how to travel. Huqiuzi said: "Has your traveling reached its utmost! One who has reached the utmost in traveling does not know where he goes; one who has reached the utmost in observing does not know what he looks at. All things are traveled, all things are observed; this is what I call traveling and what I call observing. So it is said: traveling has reached the utmost, traveling has reached the utmost!""

龍叔謂文摯曰：「子之術微矣。吾有疾，子能已乎？」文摯曰：「唯命所聽。然先言子所病之證。」龍叔曰：「吾鄉譽不以為榮，國毀不以為辱；得而不喜，失而弗憂；視生如死，視富如貧；視人如豕，視吾如人。處吾之家，如逆旅之舍；觀吾之鄉，如戎蠻之國。凡此眾疾，爵賞不能勸，刑罰不能威，盛衰、利害不能易，哀樂不能移。固不可事國君，交親友，御妻子，制僕隸。此奚疾哉？奚方能已之乎？」文摯乃命龍叔背明而立，文摯自後嚮明而望之。既而曰：「嘻！吾見子之心矣，方寸之地虛矣。幾聖人也！子心六孔流通，一孔不達。今以聖智為疾者，或由此乎！非吾淺術所能已也。」

Long Shu said to Wen Zhi: "Your art is subtle. I have an illness; can you stop it?" Wen Zhi said: "I am at your command. But first tell me your symptoms." Long Shu said: "If my village praises me, I do not count it as glory; if the state slanders me, I do not count it as disgrace; I do not rejoice at gain or grieve at loss; I see life as death and wealth as poverty; I see people as pigs and myself as a person. Living in my own house is like staying at an inn; looking at my village is like looking at a land of barbarians. Of all these ailments, rank and reward cannot encourage me, punishment cannot overawe me, flourishing and decline and profit and harm cannot change me, and sorrow and joy cannot move me. By nature I cannot serve a ruler, mingle with relatives and friends, manage wife and children, or discipline servants. What illness is this? What remedy can stop it?" Wen Zhi then had Long Shu stand with his back to the light, and Wen Zhi looked at him from behind, facing the light. After a while he said: "Ah! I see your heart; the square inch of it is empty. You are nearly a sage! Six of the openings of your heart are open and flowing, and only one is not open. Now, that you take sagely wisdom as an illness may come from this! It is not something my shallow art can stop.""

無所由而常生者，道也。由生而生，故雖終而不亡，常也。由生而亡，不幸也。有所由而常死者，亦道也。由死而死，故雖未終而自亡者，亦常也。由死而生，幸也。故無用而生謂之道，用道得終謂之常；有所用而死者亦謂之道，用道而得死者亦謂之常。季梁之死，楊朱望其門而歌；隨梧之死，楊朱撫其屍而哭。隸人之生，隸人之死，眾人且歌，眾人且哭。

That which constantly lives without depending on anything is the Way. Living from life, so that even at its end it does not perish, is constancy. Perishing from life is misfortune. That which constantly dies while depending on something is also the Way. Dying from death, so that even if it has not ended it perishes of itself, is also constancy. Living from death is good fortune. Therefore, to live by means of nothing is called the Way, and to attain one's end by means of the Way is called constancy; to die by means of something is also called the Way, and to attain death by means of the Way is also called constancy. When Jiliang died, Yang Zhu looked at his door and sang; when Suiwu died, Yang Zhu stroked his corpse and wept. When a servant is born or dies, the crowd sings and weeps."

目將眇者，先睹秋毫；耳將聾者，先聞蚋飛；口將爽者，先辨淄澠；鼻將窒者，先覺焦朽；體將僵者，先亟犇佚，心將迷者，先識是非，故物不至者則不反。

One whose eyes are about to go blind first sees the finest autumn hair; one whose ears are about to go deaf first hears a gnat in flight; one whose mouth is about to lose taste first distinguishes the waters of the Zi and the Sheng; one whose nose is about to be blocked first smells scorched and rotten things; one whose body is about to stiffen first hurries to run and flee; one whose mind is about to be confused first distinguishes right and wrong. So a thing does not turn back until it reaches its extreme."

鄭之圃澤多賢，東裡多才。圃澤之役有伯豐子者，行過東裡，遇鄧析。鄧析顧其徒而笑曰：「為若舞，彼來者奚若？」其徒曰：「所願知也。」鄧析謂伯豐子曰：「汝知養養之義乎？受人養而不能自養者，犬豕之類也；養物而物為我用者，人之力也。使汝之徒食而飽，衣而息，執政之功也。長幼群聚而為牢藉庖廚之物，奚異犬豕之類乎？」伯豐子不應。伯豐子之從者越次而進曰：「大夫不聞齊魯之多機乎？有善治土木者，有善治金革者，有善治聲樂者，有善治書數者，有善治軍旅者，有善治宗廟者，群才備也。而無相位者，無能相使者。而位之者無知，使之者無能，而知之與能為之使焉。執政者，迺吾之所使，子奚矜焉？」鄧析無以應，目其徒而退。

In the state of Zheng, Puze had many worthies and Dongli had many talents. A dependent from Puze named Bofengzi passed through Dongli and met Deng Xi. Deng Xi turned to his followers, laughing, and said: "Let me put on a show for you; what of this man coming?" The followers said: "We would like to know." Deng Xi said to Bofengzi: "Do you know the meaning of feeding and being fed? One who is fed by others and cannot feed himself is of the kind of dogs and pigs; one who feeds things and has things used by him is human strength. For you people to have your fill, to have clothes and rest is the achievement of those who govern. Old and young gather in groups, yet they are creatures of pens and kitchens; how are they different from dogs and pigs?" Bofengzi did not respond. A follower of Bofengzi stepped forward out of turn and said: "Has the grandee not heard that Qi and Lu have many skilled arts? There are those good at earthwork and woodwork, those good at metal and leather, those good at music, those good at writing and mathematics, those good at military matters, and those good at ancestral temples; all kinds of talent are complete. Yet there is no one who holds the post of minister, no one who can command them. The ones in office are ignorant, the ones who give orders are incapable, and those with knowledge and ability are instead ordered about. Those who govern are exactly the ones we command; what do you boast of?" Deng Xi had no reply, and watched his followers withdraw."

公儀伯以力聞諸侯，堂谿公言之於周宣王，王備禮以聘之。公儀伯至，觀形，懦夫也。宣王心惑而疑曰：「女之力何如？」公儀伯曰：「臣之力能折春螽之股，堪秋蟬之翼。」王作色曰：「吾之力能裂犀兕之革，曳九牛之尾，猶憾其弱。女折春螽之股，堪秋蟬之翼，而力聞天下，何也？」公儀伯長息退席，曰：「善哉王之問也！臣敢以實對。臣之師有商丘子者，力無敵於天下，而六親不知，以未嘗用其力故也。臣以死事之。乃告臣曰：『人慾見其所不見，視人所不窺；欲得其所不得，修人所不為。故學眎者先見輿薪，學聽者先聞撞鐘。夫有易於內者無難於外。於外無難，故名不出其一家。』今臣之名聞於諸侯，是臣違師之教，顯臣之能者也。然則臣之名不以負其力者也，以能用其力者也，不猶愈於負其力者乎？」

Gongyi Bo was known among the feudal lords for his strength, and Tangxi Gong told King Xuan of Zhou, who invited him with full ceremony. When Gongyi Bo arrived, the king looked at his appearance and he was a weakling. King Xuan, doubtful in his heart, asked: "What is your strength like?" Gongyi Bo said: "Your servant's strength can break the leg of a spring locust and bear the wing of an autumn cicada." The king changed color and said: "My strength can tear the hide of a rhinoceros and drag the tail of nine oxen, and I still regret being weak. You break the leg of a spring locust and bear the wing of an autumn cicada, yet your strength is known throughout the world; why?" Gongyi Bo sighed deeply and left his seat, saying: "The king asks well! Your servant dares answer truthfully. Your servant's teacher was Shangqiuzi, whose strength was unmatched in the world, yet even his six kinds of kin did not know it, because he never used his strength. Your servant served him until death. Only then did he tell your servant: 'A person who wants to see what cannot be seen should look at what others do not peer at; one who wants to obtain what cannot be obtained should cultivate what others do not do. So one who learns to see first sees a cartload of firewood, and one who learns to hear first hears a bell struck. When what is within is easy, there is no difficulty outside. With no difficulty outside, one's name does not go beyond one's own household.' Now your servant's name is known among the feudal lords because your servant disobeyed my teacher's instruction and displayed my ability. Then my name does not rest on carrying that strength but on being able to use it; is that not still better than those who merely carry that strength?""

中山公子牟者，魏國之賢公子也，好與賢人遊，不恤國事，而悅趙人公孫龍。樂正子輿之徒笑之。公子牟曰：「子何笑牟之悅公孫龍也？」子輿曰：「公孫龍之為人也，行無師，學無友，佞給而不中，漫衍而無家，好怪而妄言，欲惑人之心，屈人之口，與韓檀等肄之。」公子牟變容曰：「何子狀公孫龍之過歟？請聞其實。」子輿曰：「吾笑龍之詒孔穿，言『善射者能令後鏃中前括，發發相及，矢矢相屬，前矢造準而無絕落，後矢之括猶銜弦，視之若一焉。』孔穿駭之。龍曰：『此未其妙者。逢蒙之弟子曰鴻超，怒其妻而怖之。引烏號之弓，綦衛之箭，射其目。矢來注眸子而眶不睫，矢隧地而塵不揚。』是豈智者之言與？」公子牟曰：「智者之言固非愚者之所曉。後鏃中前括，鈞後於前。矢注眸子而眶不睫，盡矢之勢也。子何疑焉？」樂正子輿曰：「子，龍之徒，焉得不飾其闕？吾又言其尤者。龍誑魏王曰：『有意不心。有指不至。有物不盡。有影不移。髮引千鈞。白馬非馬。孤犢未嘗有母。』其負類反倫，不可勝言也。」公子牟曰：「子不諭至言而以為尤也，尤其在子矣。夫無意則心同；無指則皆至；盡物者常有；影不移者，說在改也；髮引千鈞，勢至等也；白馬非馬，形名離也；孤犢未嘗有母，非孤犢也。」樂正子輿曰：「子以公孫龍之鳴皆條也。設令發於餘竅，子亦將承之。」公子牟默然良久，告退，曰：「請待餘日，更謁子論。」

Prince Mou of Zhongshan was a worthy prince of the state of Wei, who liked to roam with worthy men, did not care for affairs of state, but liked Gongsun Long of Zhao. Yuezheng Ziyu and others laughed at him. Prince Mou said: "Why do you laugh at Mou for liking Gongsun Long?" Ziyu said: "Gongsun Long as a person acts without a teacher and studies without friends; his eloquence is glib yet off the mark, his speech sprawling without a school; he likes the strange and speaks wildly, wishing to confuse people's minds and silence people's mouths, and he studies together with Han Tan and others." Prince Mou changed his expression and said: "What do you base your account of Gongsun Long's faults on? Please hear the truth." Ziyu said: "I laugh at Long for deceiving Kong Chuan, saying: 'A good archer can make a later arrowhead hit the notch of the previous arrow, shot after shot reaching one another, arrow after arrow joined, so that the first arrow reaches the target without falling off, and the notch of the last still holds the string; it looks like a single line.' Kong Chuan was shocked. Long said: 'That is not yet the most wonderful. Pang Meng's disciple was named Hong Chao, and in anger at his wife he frightened her. He drew the Wuhao bow, set the Qiwei arrow, and shot at her eye. The arrow reached the pupil and the eyelid did not blink; the arrow fell to the ground and no dust rose.' Is this the talk of a wise man?" Prince Mou said: "The words of the wise are not what fools can understand. For the later arrowhead to hit the earlier notch is to even out the later force with the earlier. For the arrow to reach the pupil without a blink is for the arrow's momentum to be spent. What do you doubt?" Yuezheng Ziyu said: "You are Long's follower; how could you not cover up his flaws? I will say something more extreme. Long deceived the King of Wei, saying: 'Having intention is not the mind. Having a pointer does not reach. Having a thing is not exhaustive. Having a shadow does not move. A hair can pull a thousand jun. A white horse is not a horse. A lone calf never had a mother.' He goes against categories and contradicts common order, and there is no end to it." Prince Mou said: "You do not understand the utmost words and take them as faults; the fault is yours. Without intention, the mind is the same; without pointing, everything arrives; exhausting things, there is always something left; the shadow does not move, because the principle is that once it changes, it is no longer the original shadow; a hair pulling a thousand jun means the force has reached an even balance; a white horse is not a horse because form and name are separated; a lone calf never had a mother, for if it had a mother it would not be a lone calf." Yuezheng Ziyu said: "You take all of Gongsun Long's crowing as orderly reasoning. If it came from another orifice, you would also accept it." Prince Mou was silent for a long time, then withdrew, saying: "Let us wait for another day, and I will come to see you again to discuss it.""

堯治天下五十年，不知天下治歟、不治歟，不知億兆之願戴己歟、不願戴己歟，顧問左右，左右不知；問外朝，外朝不知；問在野，在野不知。堯乃微服遊於康衢，聞兒童謠曰：「立我蒸民，莫匪爾極。不識不知，順帝之則。」堯喜問曰：「誰教爾為此言？」童兒曰：「我聞之大夫。」問大夫，大夫曰：「古詩也。」堯還宮，召舜，因禪以天下。舜不辭而受之。

Yao had governed the world for fifty years and did not know whether the world was well governed or not, did not know whether the myriads wanted to support him or not; he turned and asked those around him, who did not know; he asked the outer court, who did not know; he asked those in the countryside, who did not know. Yao then went about in plain clothes along the great thoroughfare of Kang, and heard children chanting: "You settle our multitudes; none but follows your highest standard. Without knowing or recognizing, we follow the Emperor's rule." Yao asked happily: "Who taught you to say this?" The children said: "We heard it from a grandee." He asked the grandee, who said: "It is an old poem." Yao returned to the palace, summoned Shun, and handed over the world to him. Shun accepted without declining."

關尹喜曰：「在己無居，形物其箸。其動若水，其靜若鏡，其應若響。故其道若物者也，物自違道，道不違物。善若道者，亦不用耳，亦不用目，亦不用力，亦不用心。欲若道而用視聽形智以求之，弗當矣。瞻之在前，忽焉在後；用之彌滿六虛，廢之莫知其所；亦非有心者所能得遠，亦非無心者所能得近。唯默而得之而性成之者得之。知而亡情，能而不為，真知真能也。發無知，何能情？發不能，何能為？聚塊也，積塵也，雖無為而非理也。」

Yin Xi of the Pass said: "If there is no stagnation in oneself, the forms of things reveal themselves naturally. In movement be like water, in stillness like a mirror, in response like an echo. So his Way is like things; things themselves depart from the Way, but the Way does not depart from things. One who is good at following the Way uses neither ears, nor eyes, nor strength, nor mind. To wish to follow the Way yet seek it with seeing, hearing, form and knowledge is wrong. Gazing at it in front, suddenly it is behind; use it and it fills the six voids, put it aside and one does not know where it is; it cannot be pushed far by one with a mind, nor drawn near by one without a mind. Only one who gets it in silence and completes it through his nature obtains it. Knowing without feeling, able without acting, is true knowing and true ability. Issuing from not knowing, how could there still be feeling? Issuing from inability, how could there still be action? Clods gathered and dust piled up, though without action, are not principle.""

殷湯問於夏革曰：「古初有物乎？」夏革曰：「古初無物，今惡得物？後之人將謂今之無物，可乎？」殷湯曰：「然則物無先後乎？」夏革曰：「物之終始，初無極已。始或為終，終或為始，惡知其紀？然自物之外，自事之先，朕所不知也。」殷湯曰：「然則上下八方有極盡乎？」革曰：「不知也。」湯固問。革曰：「無則無極，有則有盡，朕何以知之？然無極之外復無無極，無盡之中復無無盡。無極復無無極，無盡復無無盡。朕以是知其無極無盡也，而不知其有極有盡也。」湯又問曰：「四海之外奚有？」革曰：「猶齊州也。」湯曰：「汝奚以實之？」革曰：「朕東行至營，人民猶是也。問營之東，復猶營也。西行至豳，人民猶是也。問豳之西，復猶豳也。朕以是知四海、四荒、四極之不異是也。故大小相含，無窮極也。含萬物者，亦如含天地。含萬物也故不窮，含天地也故無極。朕亦焉知天地之表不有大天地者乎？亦吾所不知也。然則天地亦物也。物有不足，故昔者女媧氏練五色石以補其闕，斷鼇之足以立四極。其後共工氏與顓頊爭為帝，怒而觸不周之山，折天柱，絕地維，故天傾西北，日月辰星就焉；地不滿東南，故百川水潦歸焉。」湯又問：「物有巨細乎？有修短乎？有同異乎？」革曰：「渤海之東不知幾億萬裡，有大壑焉，實惟無底之谷，其下無底，名曰歸墟。八紘九野之水，天漢之流，莫不注之，而無增無減焉。其中有五山焉：一曰岱輿，二曰員嶠，三曰方壺，四曰瀛洲，五曰蓬萊。其山高下週旋三萬裡，其頂平處九千里。山之中閒相去七萬裡，以為鄰居焉。其上臺觀皆金玉，其上禽獸皆純縞。珠玕之樹皆叢生，華實皆有滋味，食之皆不老不死。所居之人皆仙聖之種，一日一夕飛相往來者，不可數焉。而五山之根無所連箸，常隨潮波上下往還，不得蹔峙焉。仙聖毒之，訴之於帝。

Tang of Yin asked Xia Ge: "At the beginning of antiquity, were there things?" Xia Ge said: "If at the beginning of antiquity there were no things, how could there be things now? If people later were to say that now there are no things, would that be acceptable?" Tang of Yin said: "Then are things without before and after?" Xia Ge said: "The end and beginning of things have no ultimate limit at first. The beginning may be the end, and the end may be the beginning; how could one know their order? But what lies beyond things and before affairs, I do not know." Tang of Yin said: "Then do the above, below and eight directions have an end?" Ge said: "I do not know." Tang insisted on asking. Ge said: "If there is nothing, there is no limit; if there is something, there is an end; how would I know? But beyond the limitless there is no further 'non-limitless', and within the endless there is no further 'non-endless'. Beyond the limitless there is no further non-limitless, and beyond the endless there is no further non-endless. From this I know it is limitless and endless, and I do not know that it has limits and an end." Tang asked again: "What is beyond the four seas?" Ge said: "It is just like the Central Land." Tang said: "What do you use to prove it?" Ge said: "I traveled east to Ying, and the people were the same. I asked about the east of Ying, and it was like Ying. I traveled west to Bin, and the people were the same. I asked about the west of Bin, and it was like Bin. From this I know that the four seas, four wastelands and four extremities are no different from here. So large and small contain one another without end. That which contains the myriad things also resembles that which contains heaven and earth. Because it contains the myriad things it is inexhaustible, and because it contains heaven and earth it is limitless. How would I know whether beyond heaven and earth there is not a greater heaven and earth? That too is what I do not know. Then heaven and earth are also things. Things have deficiencies, so in former times Nuwa melted five-colored stones to mend the gap and cut off the legs of a giant turtle to set up the four poles. Later Gong Gong contended with Zhuanxu to be emperor, and in anger struck Mount Buzhou, breaking the pillar of heaven and snapping the cords of the earth; so the sky tilts to the northwest, and the sun, moon and stars lean that way; the earth is not full in the southeast, so the hundred rivers and floodwaters flow that way." Tang asked again: "Do things have large and small? Long and short? Same and different?" Ge said: "East of the Bohai Sea, I do not know how many hundreds of millions of li, there is a great chasm, truly a valley without bottom, below which there is no floor; it is called Guixu. The waters of the eight bonds and nine fields and the flow of the Celestial River all pour into it, yet it neither increases nor decreases. In it there are five mountains: the first is called Daiyu, the second Yuanjiao, the third Fanghu, the fourth Yingzhou, and the fifth Penglai. The mountains are thirty thousand li in height and circumference, and the flat tops are nine thousand li. The mountains are seventy thousand li from one another, as neighbors. The terraces and towers on them are all of gold and jade, and the birds and beasts on them are all pure white. Trees of pearl and jade grow in clumps, their flowers and fruits all have flavor, and those who eat them neither grow old nor die. Those who dwell there are all of the race of immortals and sages, flying back and forth in a single day and night, too many to count. But the roots of the five mountains are attached to nothing, and always rise and fall and go back and forth with the tides and waves, unable to stand still for a moment. The immortals and sages suffered from this and complained to the Emperor."

帝恐流於西極，失群仙聖之居，乃命禺彊使巨鼇十五舉首而戴之。迭為三番，六萬歲一交焉。五山始峙而不動。而龍伯之國有大人，舉足不盈數步而暨五山之所，一釣而連六鼇，合負而趣歸其國，灼其骨以數焉。於是岱輿員嶠二山流於北極，沈於大海，仙聖之播遷者巨億計。帝憑怒，侵減龍伯之國使阨，侵小龍伯之民使短。至伏羲神農時，其國人猶數十丈。從中州以東四十萬裡得僬僥國，人長一尺五寸。東北極有人名曰諍人，長九寸。荊之南有冥靈者，以五百歲為春，五百歲為秋。上古有大椿者，以八千歲為春，八千歲為秋。朽壤之上有菌芝者，生於朝，死於晦。春夏之月有蠓蚋者，因雨而生，見陽而死。終北之北有溟海者，天池也，有魚焉，其廣數千里，其長稱焉，其名為鯤。有鳥焉，其名為鵬，翼若垂天之云，其體稱焉。世豈知有此物哉？大禹行而見之，伯益知而名之，夷堅聞而志之。江浦之間生麼蟲，其名曰焦螟，群飛而集於蚊睫，弗相觸也。棲宿去來，蚊弗覺也。離朱子羽方晝拭眥揚眉而望之，弗見其形；䚦俞師曠方夜擿耳俛首而聽之，弗聞其聲。唯黃帝與容成子居空峒之上，同齋三月，心死形廢，徐以神視，塊然見之，若嵩山之阿；徐以氣聽，砰然聞之，若雷霆之聲。吳楚之國有大木焉，其名為櫾，碧樹而冬生，實丹而味酸。食其皮汁，已憤厥之疾。齊州珍之，渡淮而北而化為枳焉。鸜鵒不踰濟，貉踰汶則死矣，地氣然也。雖然，形氣異也，性鈞已，無相易已。生皆全已，分皆足已，吾何以識其巨細？何以識其修短？何以識其同異哉？」

The Emperor, fearing they would drift to the far west and lose the dwelling of the immortals and sages, ordered Yuqiang to have fifteen giant turtles lift their heads and carry them. They took turns in three shifts, changing once every sixty thousand years. Only then did the five mountains stand still. But in the Land of Longbo there were giants, who in a few steps of raising their feet reached where the five mountains stood, and with a single cast of the line hooked six turtles, carried them off together on their backs to their own country, and burned their bones for divination. So the two mountains Daiyu and Yuanjiao drifted to the far north and sank into the great sea, and the immortals and sages who were displaced numbered in the hundreds of millions. The Emperor was greatly angered, and reduced the land of Longbo to make it narrow and shrank the people of Longbo to make them short. Even in the time of Fuxi and Shennong, the people of that country were still dozens of zhang tall. Four hundred thousand li east of the Central Land is the Land of Jiaoyao, whose people are one chi five cun tall. At the far northeast there are people called Zheng, nine cun tall. South of Jing there is the Mingling tree, for which five hundred years is a spring and five hundred years is an autumn. In remote antiquity there was the great Chun tree, for which eight thousand years was a spring and eight thousand years was an autumn. On rotten soil there is the fungus Junzhi, born in the morning and dead by evening. In the months of spring and summer there are midges and gnats, born of rain and dying on seeing the sun. North of Zhongbei is the Ming Sea, which is the Heavenly Pool, and there is a fish, several thousand li wide and equally long, named Kun. There is a bird named Peng, whose wings are like clouds hanging from the sky, and whose body matches them. How would people of the world know there are such things? Yu the Great walked and saw them, Boyi knew and named them, and Yijian heard and recorded them. Between the river banks of the Yangtze there lives a tiny creature named Jiaoming, which gathers in flocks on the eyelash of a mosquito without touching one another. It roosts and comes and goes, and the mosquito does not feel it. Li Zhu and Zi Yu, in broad daylight, wiped their eyes and raised their brows to look, and could not see its form; Chuyu and Shi Kuang, at night, cleaned out their ears and lowered their heads to listen, and could not hear its sound. Only the Yellow Emperor and Rongchengzi, dwelling on Mount Kongtong, fasted together for three months, their hearts dead and their forms discarded, then slowly looked with spirit, and saw it as a lump, like the bend of Mount Song; slowly listened with qi, and heard it with a crash, like the sound of thunder. In the states of Wu and Chu there is a great tree named the pomelo, a green tree that keeps growing in winter, with red fruit of sour taste. Eating its rind and juice can stop the illness of rage and fainting. China treasures it, but when carried across the Huai northward it becomes a bitter orange. The mynah does not cross the Ji, and the badger dies when it crosses the Wen; this is the doing of the earth's qi. Even so, forms and qi differ, yet nature is equalized, and nothing can be exchanged. Life is entire and allotment is sufficient, so how am I to distinguish their large and small? How to distinguish their long and short? How to distinguish their same and different?""

太行、王屋二山，方七百里，高萬仞，本在冀州之南，河陽之北。北山愚公者，年且九十，面山而居，懲山北之塞，出入之迂也，聚室而謀曰：「吾與汝畢力平險，指通豫南，達於漢陰，可乎？」雜然相許。其妻獻疑曰：「以君之力，曾不能損魁父之丘，如太行、王屋何？且焉置土石？」雜曰：「投諸渤海之尾，隱土之北。」遂率子孫荷擔者三夫，叩石墾壤，箕畚運於渤海之尾。鄰人京城氏之孀妻有遺男，始齔，跳往助之。寒暑易節，始一反焉。河曲智叟笑而止之，曰：「甚矣，汝之不惠！以殘年餘力，曾不能毀山之一毛，其如土石何？」北山愚公長息曰：「汝心之固，固不可徹，曾不若孀妻弱子。雖我之死，有子存焉；子又生孫，孫又生子；子又有子，子又有孫，子子孫孫無窮匱也，而山不加增，何苦而不平？」河曲智叟亡以應。操蛇之神聞之，懼其不已也，告之於帝。帝感其誠，命誇蛾氏二子負二山，一厝朔東，一厝雍南。自此，冀之南，漢之陰，無隴斷焉。

The two mountains Taihang and Wangwu, seven hundred li in circuit and ten thousand ren high, originally stood south of Jizhou and north of Heyang. Yu Gong of North Mountain, nearly ninety years old, lived facing the mountains and suffered from the blockage to the north of the mountains and the roundabout way in and out; he gathered his whole family to discuss, saying: "I and you will do our best to level the obstacles, open a straight way to southern Yu, and reach the south bank of the Han; would that be acceptable?" Everyone agreed at once. His wife raised a doubt, saying: "With your strength you cannot even diminish a little mound like Kuifu; what can you do to Taihang and Wangwu? And where would the earth and stones go?" The others said: "Throw them to the edge of the Bohai Sea, north of Yintu." So he led his sons and grandsons who could carry loads, three of them, to hack stone and break earth, and carry it in baskets to the edge of the Bohai Sea. A neighbor, the widow of the Jingcheng family, had a posthumous son who was just losing his baby teeth, and he skipped over to help. When cold and hot seasons changed, they made just one round trip. Zhi Sou of Hequ stopped him with a laugh, saying: "You are too foolish! With your remaining years and strength you cannot destroy even a single hair of the mountain; what can you do to the earth and stones?" Yu Gong of North Mountain sighed deeply and said: "Your heart is stubborn, so stubborn it cannot be penetrated, and you are not even as good as a widow and a weak child. Even if I die, I have sons; the sons bear grandsons, the grandsons bear sons; the sons again have sons, and the sons again have grandsons; sons and grandsons are without end, but the mountains do not increase; why worry about not leveling them?" Zhi Sou of Hequ had no reply. The god who held the snakes heard it and feared he would not stop, and reported it to the Emperor. The Emperor was moved by his sincerity and ordered the two sons of Kua'e to carry the two mountains away on their backs, one placed east of Shuo and one south of Yong. From then on, there were no hills blocking the way south of Ji and north of the Han."

夸父不量力，欲追日影，逐之於隅谷之際，渴欲得飲，赴飲河渭。河渭不足，將走北飲大澤。未至，道渴而死。棄其杖，屍膏肉所浸，生鄧林，鄧林彌廣數千里焉。

Kuafu did not measure his strength and wanted to chase the shadow of the sun. He chased it as far as Yugu, and being thirsty and wanting to drink, ran to drink the Yellow and Wei Rivers. The Yellow and Wei were not enough, and he was about to go north to drink the Great Marsh. Before he got there, he died of thirst on the road. He threw down his staff, and where the fat and flesh of his corpse soaked, the Deng forest grew, and the Deng forest spread several thousand li."

大禹曰：「六合之間，四海之內，照之以日月，經之以星辰，紀之以四時，要之以太歲。神靈所生，其物異形，或夭或壽，唯聖人能通其道。」夏革曰：「然則亦有不待神靈而生，不待陰陽而形，不待日月而明，不待殺戮而夭，不待將迎而壽，不待五穀而食，不待繒纊而衣，不待舟車而行，其道自然，非聖人之所通也。」

Yu the Great said: "Within the six directions and inside the four seas, the sun and moon illuminate, the stars run their courses, the four seasons mark the time, and Taisui is the reckoning. Spirits and numinous powers produce them, and the forms of things differ, some dying young and some living long; only the sage can understand that Way." Xia Ge said: "Then there are also those that are born without waiting for spirits, have form without waiting for yin and yang, are bright without waiting for sun and moon, die young without waiting for killing, live long without waiting for sending off and welcoming, eat without waiting for the five grains, wear clothes without waiting for silk and cotton, and travel without waiting for boats and carriages; that Way is natural, and not something the sage can penetrate.""

禹之治水土也，迷而失塗，謬之一國。濱北海之北，不知距齊州幾千萬裡。其國名曰終北，不知際畔之所齊限，無風雨霜露，不生鳥獸、蟲魚、草木之類。四方悉平，周以喬陟。當國之中有山，山名壺領，狀若甔甀。頂有口，狀若員環，名曰滋穴。有水湧出，名曰神瀵，臭過蘭椒，味過醪醴。一源分為四埒，注於山下。經營一國，亡不悉徧。土氣和，亡札厲。人性婉而從物，不競不爭；柔心而弱骨，不驕不忌；長幼儕居，不君不臣；男女雜遊，不媒不聘；緣水而居，不耕不稼；土氣溫適，不織不衣；百年而死，不夭不病。其民孳阜亡數，有喜樂，亡衰老哀苦。其俗好聲，相攜而迭謠，終日不輟音。飢惓則飲神瀵，力志和平。過則醉，經旬乃醒。沐浴神瀵，膚色脂澤，香氣經旬乃歇。周穆王北遊過其國，三年忘歸。既反周室，慕其國，𢠵然自失，不進酒肉，不召嬪御者，數月乃復。管仲勉齊桓公因遊遼口，俱之其國，幾尅舉。隰朋諫曰：「君舍齊國之廣，人民之眾，山川之觀，殖物之阜，禮義之盛，章服之美，妖靡盈庭，忠良滿朝。肆吒則徒卒百萬，視撝則諸侯從命，亦奚羨於彼而棄齊國之社稷，從戎夷之國乎？此仲父之耄，柰何從之？」桓公乃止，以隰朋之言告管仲。仲曰：「此固非朋之所及也。臣恐彼國之不可知之也。齊國之富奚戀？隰朋之言奚顧？」

When Yu was controlling the waters and lands, he lost his way and strayed into a country. It lay along the shore north of the Northern Sea, I do not know how many thousands of li from China. That country was called Zhongbei, and its borders and limits were not known; there was no wind, rain, frost or dew, and no birds, beasts, insects, fish, grasses or trees of any kind. The four directions were all level, surrounded by high steep mountains. In the middle of the country was a mountain named Huling, shaped like a clay jar. At the top was an opening shaped like a ring, named Ziyue. Water gushed out of it, named the Divine Fountain, with a scent surpassing orchid and pepper and a flavor surpassing fine wine. One source divided into four streams, which poured down the mountain. It irrigated the whole country, reaching everywhere. The air of the earth was mild, without plague. People were gentle by nature and yielding to things, not competing or contending; soft in heart and weak in bone, not proud or jealous; old and young lived as equals, with neither ruler nor minister; men and women roamed together, without matchmaker or betrothal gifts; living along the water, they neither plowed nor sowed; the air of the earth was temperate, so they neither wove nor wore clothes; they died at a hundred years, neither young nor sick. The people multiplied in countless numbers, had joy and delight, and had no aging, sorrow or bitterness. Their custom was to love sound, and they took one another by the hand and sang songs in turn, their singing not stopping all day. When hungry and tired they drank from the Divine Fountain, and their strength and will were at peace. When they drank too much they were drunk, and only woke after ten days. Bathing in the Divine Fountain made their skin glossy, and the fragrance lasted more than ten days. King Mu of Zhou, traveling north, passed through that country and forgot to return for three years. After returning to the Zhou court, he longed for that country, and was dejected and lost, did not take wine or meat, did not summon his consorts, and only recovered after several months. Guan Zhong urged Duke Huan of Qi to take the opportunity to travel to Liaokou, and go together to that country, and they nearly set out. Xi Peng remonstrated, saying: "My lord would give up Qi's vastness, the people's multitude, the scenery of mountains and rivers, the abundance of products, the splendor of rites and righteousness, the beauty of robes and insignia, with charming beauties filling the courtyard and loyal and good men filling the court. One shout and a million soldiers answer, one glance and the feudal lords obey, so what do you envy over there that makes you abandon the altars of Qi to follow a land of barbarians? Uncle Zhong has become senile; how can you follow him?" Duke Huan then stopped, and told Guan Zhong what Xi Peng said. Zhong said: "This is certainly beyond what Peng can reach. I fear that country is not something one can know. What is there to cherish in the wealth of Qi? What is there to heed in Xi Peng's words?""

南國之人祝髮而裸，北國之人鞨巾而裘，中國之人冠冕而裳。九土所資，或農或商，或田或漁，如冬裘夏葛，水舟陸車。默而得之，性而成之。越之東有輒沐之國，其長子生，則鮮而食之，謂之宜弟。其大父死，負其大母而棄之，曰：「鬼妻不可以同居處。」楚之南有炎人之國，其親戚死，㱙其肉而棄之，然後埋其骨，迺成為孝子。秦之西有儀渠之國者，其親戚死，聚祡積而焚之。燻則煙上，謂之登遐，然後成為孝子。此上以為政，下以為俗，而未足為異也。

The people of the southern lands shave their heads and go naked, the people of the northern lands wrap their heads and wear furs, and the people of the Central Land wear caps and skirts. What the land of the Nine Provinces provides, some farm or trade, some till or fish, like fur in winter and linen in summer, boats on water and carts on land. They attain it in silence and complete it by nature. East of Yue is the land of Zhemu, where the eldest son, when born, is killed and eaten, and this is called "befitting to younger brothers." When a grandfather dies, they carry the grandmother on their back and throw her away, saying: "The wife of a ghost cannot live together." South of Chu is the land of the Yan people, where when a relative dies, they strip off the flesh and throw it away, and then bury the bones, and only then are they considered filial sons. West of Qin is the land of Yiqu, where when a relative dies, they pile firewood and burn him. The smoke rising is called ascending to the far heavens, and only then are they filial sons. Above, this is taken as government; below, this is taken as custom; yet it is not enough to be regarded as strange."

孔子東遊，見兩小兒辯鬬，問其故。一兒曰：「我以日始出時去人近，而日中時遠也。」一兒以日初出遠，而日中時近也。一兒曰：「日初出大如車蓋，及日中則如盤盂，此不為遠者小而近者大乎？」一兒曰：「日初出滄滄涼涼，及其日中如探湯，此不為近者熱而遠者涼乎？」孔子不能決也。兩小兒笑曰：「孰為汝多知乎？」

Confucius was traveling in the east when he saw two small boys arguing, and asked the reason. One boy said: "I think the sun is closer to people when it first rises, and farther at noon." The other boy thought the sun was farther at sunrise and closer at noon. The first boy said: "When the sun first rises it is as big as a carriage canopy, and at noon it is like a plate or a bowl; isn't that because what is far looks small and what is near looks large?" The other boy said: "When the sun first rises it is cool and chilly, and at noon it is like putting your hand into hot water; isn't that because what is near is hot and what is far is cool?" Confucius could not decide. The two boys laughed and said: "Who says you know so much?"

均，天下之至理也，連於形物亦然。均髮均縣，輕重而髮絕，髮不均也。均也，其絕也莫絕。人以為不然，自有知其然者也。詹何以獨繭絲為綸，芒針為鉤，荊篠為竿，剖粒為餌，引盈車之魚於百仞之淵、汩流之中，綸不絕，鉤不伸，竿不橈。楚王聞而異之，召問其故。詹何曰：「臣聞先大夫之言，蒲且子之弋也，弱弓纖繳，乘風振之，連雙鶬於青雲之際。用心專，動手均也。臣因其事，放而學釣，五年始盡其道。當臣之臨河持竿，心無雜慮，唯魚之念；投綸沈鉤，手無輕重，物莫能亂。魚見臣之鉤餌，猶沈埃聚沫，吞之不疑。所以能以弱制彊，以輕致重也。大王治國誠能若此，則天下可運於一握，將亦奚事哉？」楚王曰：「善。」

Evenness is the utmost principle of the world, even in things with form. A hair, if it is even, can hold something hanging; if the weights are uneven the hair breaks, which is because the hair is not even. If it is even, what should break does not. People think it is not so, but naturally some know that it is so. Zhan He used a single cocoon thread for his fishing line, a needle-awn for his hook, a bough of thorn-bamboo for his rod, and a split grain of rice for bait, and from a deep pool a hundred fathoms deep, in a rushing current, he drew out fish enough to fill a cart, and the line did not snap, the hook did not straighten, and the rod did not bend. The King of Chu heard of it and thought it remarkable, and summoned him to ask the reason. Zhan He said: "I have heard the words of my late master: Pu Ju Zi shot at birds with a weak bow and a fine cord, rising on the wind, and in the space of the blue clouds hit two cranes at once. His mind was concentrated, and his hand was even. Following this I learned fishing by imitation, and only after five years did I master the way. When I stand at the river holding the rod, my mind has no stray thoughts and I think only of the fish; as I cast the line and sink the hook, my hand has no sense of light or heavy, and nothing can disturb me. The fish see my hook and bait like sunk dust and gathered foam, and swallow without suspicion. Thus with the weak I can master the strong, and with the light I can draw in the heavy. If Your Majesty could govern the state like this, the world could be turned in the palm of your hand, and what would there be left to do?" The King of Chu said: "Good."

魯公扈、趙齊嬰二人有疾，同請扁鵲求治。扁鵲治之。既同愈，謂公扈、齊嬰曰：「汝曩之所疾，自外而幹府藏者，固藥石之所已。今有偕生之疾，與體偕長，今為汝攻之，何如？」二人曰：「願先聞其驗。」扁鵲謂公扈曰：「汝志彊而氣弱，故足於謀而寡於斷。齊嬰志弱而氣彊，故少於慮而傷於專。若換汝之心，則均於善矣。」扁鵲遂飲二人毒酒，迷死三日，剖胷探心，易而置之；投以神藥，既悟如初。二人辭歸。於是公扈反齊嬰之室，而有其妻子，妻子弗識。齊嬰亦反公扈之室，有其妻子，妻子亦弗識。二室因相與訟，求辨於扁鵲。扁鵲辨其所由，訟乃已。

Gong Hu of Lu and Qi Ying of Zhao were both ill and together asked Bian Que for treatment. Bian Que treated them. When both had recovered, he said to Gong Hu and Qi Ying: "The illnesses you had before came from outside and encroached on your organs, and they were things that medicine and stone needles could stop. Now there is an illness born with you, which grew along with your body; now I could treat it for you; what do you say?" The two said: "We would like first to hear the evidence." Bian Que said to Gong Hu: "Your will is strong but your energy is weak, so you plan well enough but lack decisiveness. Qi Ying's will is weak but his energy is strong, so he thinks little and errs by being headstrong. If you exchanged your hearts, you would both come out well." Bian Que then gave the two a poisonous wine, and they lay stupefied as if dead for three days; he cut open their chests, took out their hearts, exchanged and set them in place, and applied divine medicine, and when they awoke they were as before. The two took their leave and went home. Then Gong Hu went to Qi Ying's house and took his wife, and the wife did not recognize him. Qi Ying likewise went to Gong Hu's house and took his wife, and the wife did not recognize him either. The two households then sued each other and asked Bian Que to settle it. Bian Que explained the reason, and the dispute ended.

匏巴鼓琴而鳥舞魚躍，鄭師文聞之，棄家從師襄遊。柱指鈞弦，三年不成章。師襄曰：「子可以歸矣。」師文舍其琴，歎曰：「文非弦之不能鈞，非章之不能成。文所存者不在弦，所志者不在聲。內不得於心，外不應於器，故不敢發手而動弦。且小假之，以觀其後。」無幾何，復見師襄。師襄曰：「子之琴何如？」師文曰：「得之矣。請嘗試之。」於是當春而叩商弦以召南呂，涼風忽至，草木成實。及秋而叩角弦以激夾鍾，溫風徐迴，草木發榮。當夏而叩羽弦以召黃鐘，霜雪交下，川池暴沍。及冬而叩徵弦以激蕤賓，陽光熾烈，堅冰立散。將終，命宮而總四弦，則景風翔，慶雲浮，甘露降，澧泉湧。師襄乃撫心高蹈曰：「微矣，子之彈也！雖師曠之清角，鄒衍之吹律，亡以加之。彼將挾琴執管而從子之後耳。」

When Pao Ba played the zither, birds danced and fish leapt. Shi Wen of the state of Zheng heard of it, left his home and followed Shi Xiang to study. He pressed the strings and tuned them, but for three years could not complete a piece. Shi Xiang said: "You may go home." Shi Wen put down his zither and sighed, saying: "It is not that I cannot tune the strings, nor that I cannot complete a piece. What I hold in mind is not in the strings, and what I aim at is not in the sound. If I do not get it within my heart, and outside it does not respond in the instrument, I dare not let go my hand and move the strings. Please allow me a little longer, and see afterward." Not long after, he saw Shi Xiang again. Shi Xiang said: "How is your zither?" Shi Wen said: "I have got it. Please try me." Then in spring he struck the shang string to call the note Nanlu, and a cool wind suddenly arrived and the grasses and trees bore fruit. In autumn he struck the jue string to rouse the note Jiazhong, and a warm wind slowly returned and the grasses and trees put forth flowers. In summer he struck the yu string to call the note Huangzhong, and frost and snow fell together and rivers and ponds suddenly froze. In winter he struck the zhi string to rouse the note Ruibin, and the sun blazed fiercely and the hard ice melted at once. As the piece was ending, he sounded the gong note and gathered the four strings, and then a bright wind soared, auspicious clouds floated, sweet dew fell, and sweet springs welled up. Shi Xiang then beat his breast and leapt about, saying: "How subtle is your playing! Even Shi Kuang's Qingjiao and Zou Yan's pitch-pipe tuning could add nothing to it. They would have to take up their zithers and pipes and follow after you."

薛譚學謳於秦青，未窮青之技，自謂盡之，遂辭歸。秦青弗止，餞於郊衢，撫節悲歌，聲振林木，響遏行雲。薛譚乃謝求反，終身不敢言歸。秦青顧謂其友曰：「昔韓娥東之齊，匱糧，過雍門，鬻歌假食。既去而餘音繞梁欐，三日不絕，左右以其人弗去。過逆旅，逆旅人辱之。韓娥因曼聲哀哭，一里老幼悲愁，垂涕相對，三日不食，遽而追之。娥還，復為曼聲長歌。一里老幼喜躍抃舞，弗能自禁，忘向之悲也，乃厚賂發之。故雍門之人至今善歌哭，放娥之遺聲。」

Xue Tan studied singing with Qin Qing, and before he had exhausted Qing's skill, thought he had, and took his leave to go home. Qin Qing did not stop him, but gave him a farewell feast at the outskirts, beat time and sang a sorrowful song, and the sound shook the trees of the forest and its echo halted the moving clouds. Xue Tan then apologized and asked to return, and for the rest of his life did not dare speak of leaving. Qin Qing turned to his friends and said: "Long ago Han E went east to Qi, ran out of food, and passing the Yong Gate sold songs in exchange for food. After she left, the lingering sound still wound around the beams for three days without stopping, and those around her thought she had not left. As she passed an inn, the people of the inn insulted her. Han E then drew out a long sorrowful wail, and old and young in the whole neighborhood were sad and grieved, wept facing each other, and did not eat for three days, and hurried to chase after her. E came back and sang a long song again. Old and young in the neighborhood leapt for joy, clapped and danced, unable to restrain themselves, forgetting their former sorrow, and sent her off with generous gifts. So the people of Yong Gate to this day are good at singing and weeping, imitating the sounds that E left behind."

伯牙善鼓琴，鍾子期善聽。伯牙鼓琴，志在登高山，鍾子期曰：「善哉！峩峩兮若泰山！」志在流水，鍾子期曰：「善哉！洋洋兮若江河！」伯牙所念，鍾子期必得之。伯牙遊於泰山之陰，卒逢暴雨，止於巖下，心悲，乃援琴而鼓之，初為霖雨之操，更造崩山之音。曲每奏，鍾子期輒窮其趣。伯牙乃舍琴而嘆曰：「善哉，善哉，子之聽夫！志想像猶吾心也。吾於何逃聲哉？」

Bo Ya was good at playing the zither, and Zhong Ziqi was good at listening. When Bo Ya played, with his mind set on climbing a high mountain, Zhong Ziqi said: "Excellent! Lofty like Mount Tai!" When his mind was on flowing water, Zhong Ziqi said: "Excellent! Vast like the Yangtze and the Yellow River!" Whatever Bo Ya thought of, Zhong Ziqi was sure to grasp. Bo Ya was traveling on the north side of Mount Tai when he suddenly met a violent rainstorm and stopped under a cliff, feeling sad in his heart, and took up his zither and played, first making the tune of Continuous Rain, then composing the sound of Collapsing Mountains. At each piece Zhong Ziqi was always able to exhaust its meaning. Bo Ya then put down his zither and sighed, saying: "Excellent, excellent, your listening! What you imagine from my aim is just like my heart. Where could I hide my sound from you?"

周穆王西巡狩，越崑崙，不至弇山。反還，未及中國，道有獻工人名偃師，穆王薦之，問曰：「若有何能？」偃師曰：「臣唯命所試。然臣已有所造，願王先觀之。」穆王曰：「日以俱來，吾與若俱觀之。」越日偃師謁見王。王薦之，曰：「若與偕來者何人邪？」對曰：「臣之所造能倡者。」穆王驚視之，趣步俯仰，信人也。巧夫顉其頤，則歌合律；捧其手，則舞應節。千變萬化，惟意所適。王以為實人也，與盛姬內御並觀之。技將終，倡者瞬其目而招王之左右侍妾。王大怒，立欲誅偃師。偃師大懾，立剖散倡者以示王，皆傅會革、木、膠、漆、白、黑、丹、青之所為。王諦料之，內則肝、膽、心、肺、脾、腎、腸、胃，外則筋骨、支節、皮毛、齒髮，皆假物也，而無不畢具者，合會復如初見。王試廢其心，則口不能言；廢其肝，則目不能視；廢其腎，則足不能步。穆王始悅而歎曰：「人之巧乃可與造化者同功乎？」詔貳車載之以歸。夫班輸之雲梯，墨翟之飛鳶，自謂能之極也。弟子東門賈禽滑釐聞偃師之巧以告二子，二子終身不敢語藝，而時執規矩。

King Mu of Zhou made a tour of inspection in the west, crossed the Kunlun, and did not reach Mount Yan. On his way back, before he reached the Central States, a craftsman who offered his skill, named Yan Shi, met him on the road; King Mu summoned him and asked: "What can you do?" Yan Shi said: "I only follow orders and try things. But I have already made something, and wish Your Majesty to see it first." King Mu said: "Bring it with you another day, and I will see it with you." A day later Yan Shi had an audience with the king. The king summoned him and said: "Who is it that came with you?" He answered: "It is a performer I made." King Mu looked at it in alarm; it hurried along, bowed and looked up, just like a real person. How skillful! When he lifted its chin it sang in tune; when he held up its hand it danced in time. It changed in a thousand ways, following whatever he wished. The king thought it was a real person, and watched with his consort Sheng Ji and the inner attendants. As the performance was about to end, the performer winked at the king's attendant concubines. The king was furious and wanted to execute Yan Shi at once. Yan Shi was terrified, and immediately took the performer apart in front of the king, showing that it was all made of leather, wood, glue, lacquer, white, black, red and blue pigments joined together. The king looked it over carefully: inside were liver, gallbladder, heart, lungs, spleen, kidneys, intestines and stomach, outside were sinews, bones, limbs, skin, hair, teeth and hair of the head, all artificial things, yet none lacking, and when put together again it was as it had looked at first. The king tried removing its heart, and its mouth could not speak; removing the liver, its eyes could not see; removing the kidneys, its feet could not walk. King Mu then was pleased and sighed, saying: "Can human skill truly match the work of the Creator?" He ordered it to be carried back in a following carriage. As for Gongshu Ban's cloud ladder and Mo Di's flying kite, they thought they had reached the limit. Their disciples Dongmen Jia and Qin Guli, hearing of Yan Shi's skill, told the two of them, and for the rest of their lives they did not dare speak of craft and always carried only the compass and square.

甘蠅，古之善射者，彀弓而獸伏鳥下，弟子名飛衛，學射於甘蠅，而巧過其師。紀昌者，又學射於飛衛。飛衛曰：「爾先學不瞬，而後可言射矣。」紀昌歸，偃臥其妻之機下，以目承牽挺。二年之後，雖錐末倒眥，而不瞬也。以告飛衛，飛衛曰：「未也，必學視而後可。視小如大，視微如著，而後告我。」昌以氂懸蝨於牖，南面而望之。旬日之間，浸大也；三年之後，如車輪焉。以覩餘物，皆丘山也。乃以燕角之弧、朔蓬之簳射之，貫蝨之心，而懸不絕。以告飛衛，飛衛高蹈拊膺曰：「汝得之矣！」紀昌既盡衛之術，計天下之敵己者，一人而已，乃謀殺飛衛。相遇於野，二人交射，中路矢鋒相觸，而墜於地，而塵不揚。飛衛之矢先窮，紀昌遺一矢。既發，飛衛以棘刺之端扞之，而無差焉。於是二子泣而投弓，相拜於塗，請為父子；尅臂以誓，不得告術於人。

Gan Ying was an archer of ancient times: when he drew his bow full, beasts crouched and birds fell. His disciple named Fei Wei studied archery with Gan Ying and surpassed his teacher in skill. Ji Chang then studied archery with Fei Wei. Fei Wei said: "First learn not to blink, and only then can we talk about shooting." Ji Chang went home and lay on his back under his wife's loom, with his eyes fixed on the treadle. After two years, even if the point of an awl reached his eyelid, he did not blink. He told Fei Wei, and Fei Wei said: "Not yet; you must learn to see, and then it will do. Learn to see the small as large, and the subtle as clear, and then tell me." Chang hung a louse in the window with a yak hair and gazed at it facing south. Within ten days it grew larger; after three years it was like a cartwheel. When he looked at other things, they were all like hills and mountains. Then he took a bow of Yan horn and an arrow of northern fleabane shaft and shot at it, piercing the louse's heart while the hanging thread did not break. He told Fei Wei, and Fei Wei leapt about and beat his chest, saying: "You have got it!" Ji Chang had exhausted Wei's art, and calculated that the only one in the world who could be his match was one man, and so he plotted to kill Fei Wei. They met in the wilds, and the two shot at each other; halfway the arrowheads met and fell to the ground, raising no dust. Fei Wei's arrows ran out first, and Ji Chang had one arrow left. After he loosed it, Fei Wei parried it with the point of a thorn and made no error. Then the two wept and threw down their bows, bowed to each other on the road, and asked to be father and son; they cut their arms and swore not to tell the art to others.

造父之師曰泰豆氏。造父之始從習御也，執禮甚卑，泰豆三年不告。造父執禮愈謹，乃告之曰：「古詩言：『良弓之子，必先為箕；良冶之子，必先為裘。』汝先觀吾趣。趣如吾，然後六轡可持，六馬可御。」造父曰：「唯命所從。」泰豆乃立木為塗，僅可容足；計步而置，履之而行。趣走往還，無跌失也。造父學之，三日盡其巧。泰豆歎曰：「子何其敏也？得之捷乎！凡所御者，亦如此也。曩汝之行，得之於足，應之於心。推於御也，齊輯乎轡銜之際，而急緩乎唇吻之和，正度乎胷臆之中，而執節乎掌握之間。內得於中心，而外合於馬志，是故能進退履繩而旋曲中規矩，取道致遠而氣力有餘，誠得其術也。得之於銜，應之於轡；得之於轡，應之於手；得之於手，應之於心，則不以目視，不以策驅；心閑體正，六轡不亂，而二十四蹄所投無差，迴旋進退，莫不中節，然後輿輪之外可使無餘轍，馬蹄之外可使無餘地，未嘗覺山谷之嶮，原隰之夷，視之一也。吾術窮矣，汝其識之！」

Zao Fu's teacher was called Tai Dou Shi. When Zao Fu began studying chariot driving with him, his manner of respect was very humble, but Tai Dou did not tell him anything for three years. Zao Fu was even more careful in his respect, and only then Tai Dou told him: "The old poem says: 'The son of a good bowyer must first learn to make winnowing baskets; the son of a good smith must first learn to make fur coats.' First watch me walk. When you walk like me, then you can hold the six reins and drive the six horses." Zao Fu said: "I will follow your command." Tai Dou then set up posts as a path, just wide enough for a foot; he placed them by steps, and walked on them. He walked back and forth at speed without a slip. Zao Fu learned this and in three days had mastered the skill. Tai Dou sighed and said: "How quick you are! You got it so fast! Whatever you drive will be like this. Just now when you walked, you got it in your feet and answered it in your heart. Apply this to driving: evenness lies in the bit and reins, quickness and slowness in the harmony of the lips and mouth, correct measure in the chest, and control of the beat in the grip of the hand. Inwardly you get it in your heart, and outwardly you accord with the horses' will, so you can advance and retreat on the line, wheel and curve in accord with the compass, take a road far and still have strength to spare; you have truly got the art. You get it in the bit and answer it in the reins; you get it in the reins and answer it in the hand; you get it in the hand and answer it in the heart, and then you do not use the eyes to look nor the whip to drive; the mind is at ease and the body upright, the six reins are not disordered, the twenty-four hooves land without error, turning and advancing and retreating all in time, and then outside the wheel track there will be no extra rut, and outside the hooves no extra ground; one never notices any difference between the danger of the mountain gorge and the flatness of the plain. My art is exhausted; remember this!"

魏黑卵以暱嫌殺丘邴章，丘邴章之子來丹謀報父之讐。丹氣甚猛，形甚露，計粒而食，順風而趨。雖怒，不能稱兵以報之。恥假力於人，誓手劍以屠黑卵。黑卵悍志絕眾，力抗百夫；節骨皮肉，非人類也，延頸承刀，披胸受矢，鋩鍔摧屈，而體無痕撻。負其材力，視來丹猶雛鷇也。來丹之友申他曰：「子怨黑卵至矣，黑卵之易子過矣，將奚謀焉？」來丹垂涕曰：「願子為我謀。」申他曰：「吾聞衛孔周其祖得殷帝之寶劍，一童子服之，卻三軍之眾，奚不請焉？」來丹遂適衛，見孔周，執僕御之禮，請先納妻子，後言所欲。孔周曰：「吾有三劍，唯子所擇；皆不能殺人，且先言其狀。一曰含光，視之不可見，運之不知有。其所觸也，泯然無際，經物而物不覺。二曰承影，將旦昧爽之交，日夕昏明之際，北面而察之，淡淡焉若有物存，莫識其狀。其所觸也，竊竊然有聲，經物而物不疾也。三曰宵練，方晝則見影而不見光，方夜見光而不見形。其觸物也，騞然而過，隨過隨合，覺疾而不血刃焉。此三寶者，傳之十三世矣，而無施於事。匣而藏之，未嘗啟封。」來丹曰：「雖然，吾必請其下者。」孔周乃歸其妻子，與齋七日。晏陰之間，跪而授其下劍，來丹再拜受之以歸。來丹遂執劍從黑卵。時黑卵之醉偃於牖下，自頸至腰三斬之，黑卵不覺。來丹以黑卵之死，趣而退。遇黑卵之子於門，擊之三下，如投虛。黑卵之子方笑曰：「汝何蚩而三招予？」來丹知劍之不能殺人也，歎而歸。黑卵既醒，怒其妻曰：「醉而露我，使我嗌疾而腰急。」其子曰：「疇昔來丹之來，遇我於門，三招我，亦使我體疾而支彊。彼其厭我哉！」

Wei Heiluan killed Qiu Bingzhang because of a private grudge, and Qiu Bingzhang's son Lai Dan plotted to avenge his father. Dan's spirit was fierce but his body was frail; he counted grains of rice to eat, and could walk fast only with the wind behind him. Even in anger he could not raise troops for revenge. Ashamed to borrow others' strength, he swore to slaughter Heiluan with his own sword. Heiluan's fierce will exceeded that of ordinary men, and his strength could resist a hundred; his joints, bones, skin and flesh were not like those of human beings, he stretched his neck to receive the blade and bared his chest to receive the arrow, and the sharp edges bent and broke on him, leaving no mark on his body. Relying on his strength, he looked on Dan as a fledgling. Lai Dan's friend Shen Ta said: "Your resentment of Heiluan is extreme, and Heiluan's contempt for you is excessive; what will you plan?" Lai Dan wept and said: "I hope you will plan it for me." Shen Ta said: "I have heard that the ancestors of Kong Zhou of Wei obtained a sword of the Yin emperor, which a child could wear and with it drive back the host of three armies; why not go and ask for it?" Lai Dan then went to Wei and saw Kong Zhou, offering the courtesy of a servant, and asked first to present his wife, and then to say what he sought. Kong Zhou said: "I have three swords, and you may choose only one; none of them can kill people, but let me first describe them. The first is called Hanguang. Look and you cannot see it; wield it and you do not know it is there. Where it touches it vanishes without a trace, and passes through things without their feeling it. The second is called Chengying. At the time between dawn and daylight, or the twilight between dusk and dark, face north and look, and faintly it seems something is there, but you cannot make out its shape. Where it touches there is a faint sound, and it passes through things without hurting them. The third is called Xiaolian. In the daytime you see its shadow but not its light, and at night you see its light but not its shape. It touches a thing and passes through in a flash, closing as it passes; one feels pain but no blood is on the blade. These three treasures have been handed down for thirteen generations, but have never been used for anything. They are kept in their cases and have never been unsealed." Lai Dan said: "Even so, I must ask for the lowest one." Kong Zhou then gave back his wife, and they fasted together for seven days. In a space between cloud and clear weather, kneeling, he handed him the lowest sword, and Lai Dan bowed twice and took it back. Lai Dan then took the sword and followed Heiluan. At the time Heiluan was lying drunk under the window, and he struck three times from neck to waist, and Heiluan did not feel it. Lai Dan thought Heiluan was dead and hurried away. At the door he met Heiluan's son and struck him three times, as if throwing it at empty space. Heiluan's son was laughing and said: "Why do you wave at me three times like a fool?" Lai Dan knew that the sword could not kill people, sighed and went home. When Heiluan woke up, he scolded his wife: "Getting drunk, you left me uncovered, and now my throat hurts and my waist is tight." His son said: "The other day Lai Dan came, met me at the door, and waved at me three times, and also made my body ache and my limbs stiff. He probably put a curse on us!"

周穆王大征西戎，西戎獻錕鋙之劍，火浣之布。其劍長尺有咫，練鋼赤刃，用之切玉如切泥焉。火浣之布，浣之必投於火，布則火色，垢則布色；出火而振之，皓然疑乎雪。皇子以為無此物，傳之者妄。蕭叔曰：「皇子果於自信，果於誣理哉！」

King Mu of Zhou made a great campaign against the Western Rong, and the Western Rong presented him with the Kunwu sword and fire-washed cloth. The sword was one foot eight inches long, forged of steel with a red blade, and with it one could cut jade like clay. As for the fire-washed cloth, to wash it one must throw it into fire, and the cloth takes on the color of fire and the dirt takes on the color of cloth; when it comes out of the fire and is shaken, it is white as snow. The prince thought there was no such thing and that those who passed it on were lying. Xiao Shu said: "The prince is rash in trusting himself, and rash in slandering principle!"

力謂命曰：「若之功奚若我哉？」命曰：「汝奚功於物而欲比朕？」力曰：「壽夭、窮達，貴賤、貧富，我力之所能也。」命曰：「彭祖之智不出堯舜之上，而壽八百；顏淵之才不出眾人之下，而壽十八。仲尼之德不出諸侯之下，而困於陳蔡；殷紂之行不出三仁之上，而居君位。季札無爵於吳，田恆專有齊國。夷齊餓於首陽，季氏富於展禽。若是汝力之所能，柰何壽彼而夭此，窮聖而達逆，賤賢而貴愚，貧善而富惡邪？」力曰：「若如若言，我固無功於物，而物若此邪，此則若之所制邪？」命曰：「既謂之命，柰何有制之者邪？朕直而推之，曲而任之。自壽自夭，自窮自達，自貴自賤，自富自貧，朕豈能識之哉？朕豈能識之哉？」

Effort said to Fate: "How does your merit compare with mine?" Fate said: "What merit do you have toward things, that you want to compare with me?" Effort said: "Long life and early death, poverty and success, high and low rank, poor and rich, are things my effort can do." Fate said: "Peng Zu's wisdom did not surpass Yao and Shun, yet he lived eight hundred years; Yan Yuan's talent was not below that of ordinary men, yet he lived eighteen years. Confucius's virtue was not below that of the feudal lords, yet he was in distress between Chen and Cai; King Zhou of Yin's conduct did not surpass the Three Benevolent Ones, yet he held the throne. Ji Zha had no title in Wu, while Tian Heng held the state of Qi for himself. Bo Yi and Shu Qi starved on Mount Shouyang, and the Ji family was richer than Zhan Qin. If it is what your effort can do, why do you make that one live long and this one die young, make the sage poor and the rebel successful, make the worthy low and the foolish high, make the good poor and the wicked rich?" Effort said: "If it is as you say, then I have no merit toward things at all, and things are like this; is this what you control?" Fate said: "Since it is called fate, how can there be anything that controls it? What is straight I push, and what is crooked I let be. Each lives long or dies young of itself, is poor or successful of itself, noble or lowly of itself, rich or poor of itself; how could I know? How could I know?"

北宮子謂西門子曰：「朕與子並世也，而人子達；並族也，而人子敬；並貌也，而人子愛；並言也，而人子庸；並行也，而人子誠；並仕也，而人子貴；並農也，而人子富；並商也，而人子利。朕衣則裋褐，食則粢糲，居則蓬室，出則徒行。子衣則文錦，食則粱肉，居則連欐，出則結駟。在家熙然有棄朕之心，在朝諤然有敖朕之色。請謁不相及，遨遊不同行，固有年矣。子自以德過朕邪？」西門子曰：「予無以知其實。汝造事而窮，予造事而達，此厚薄之驗歟？而皆謂與予並，汝之顏厚矣。」北宮子無以應，自失而歸。中塗遇東郭先生，先生曰：「汝奚往而反，偊偊而步，有深愧之色邪？」北宮子言其狀。東郭先生曰：「吾將舍汝之愧，與汝更之西門氏而問之。」曰：「汝奚辱北宮子之深乎？固且言之。」西門子曰：「北宮子言世族、年貌、言行與予並，而賤貴、貧富與予異。予語之曰：『予無以知其實。汝造事而窮，予造事而達，此將厚薄之驗歟？而皆謂與予並，汝之顏厚矣。』」東郭先生曰：「汝之言厚薄不過言才德之差，吾之言厚薄異於是矣。夫北宮子厚於德，薄於命；汝厚於命，薄於德。汝之達，非智得也；北宮子之窮，非愚失也。皆天也，非人也。而汝以命厚自矜，北宮子以德厚自愧，皆不識夫固然之理矣。」西門子曰：「先生止矣！予不敢復言。」北宮子既歸，衣其裋褐，有狐貉之溫；進其茙菽，有稻粱之味；庇其蓬室，若廣廈之蔭；乘其篳輅，若文軒之飾。終身逌然，不知榮辱之在彼也、在我也。東郭先生聞之曰：「北宮子之寐久矣，一言而能寤，易悟也哉！」

Beigong Zi said to Ximen Zi: "You and I live in the same age, yet people let you succeed; we are of the same clan, yet people respect you; we look alike, yet people love you; we speak alike, yet people use you; we act alike, yet people trust you; we both serve in office, yet people honor you; we both farm, yet you become rich; we both trade, yet you profit. I wear short coarse cloth, eat coarse grain, live in a hut of brushwood, and go on foot. You wear patterned brocade, eat fine millet and meat, live in joined halls, and go out with a team of four. At home you have a cheerful air of putting me aside, and at court you have an upright air of looking down on me. When I ask for an audience it does not reach you, and when we roam we do not go together; it has been years already. Do you think your virtue surpasses mine?" Ximen Zi said: "I have no way to know the truth. You work and are poor, I work and succeed; is this a proof of thick and thin? Yet you say you are my equal, and your face is thick." Beigong Zi had no reply, and went home dejected. Halfway he met Master Dongguo, who said: "Where are you coming from, walking alone like this, with a look of deep shame?" Beigong Zi told him what had happened. Master Dongguo said: "I will remove your shame, and go with you to ask the Ximen again." He said: "Why did you shame Beigong Zi so deeply? Please tell me." Ximen Zi said: "Beigong Zi says that in clan, age, looks, speech and conduct he is my equal, but that in low and high, poor and rich he differs from me. I told him: 'I have no way to know the truth. You work and are poor, I work and succeed; is this perhaps a proof of thick and thin? Yet you say you are my equal, and your face is thick.'" Master Dongguo said: "What you call thick and thin is only a difference of talent and virtue; the thick and thin I speak of are different from this. Beigong Zi is thick in virtue and thin in fate; you are thick in fate and thin in virtue. Your success was not gained by wisdom, and Beigong Zi's poverty was not lost by folly. It is all heaven, not man. You boast because your fate is thick, and Beigong Zi feels shame because his virtue is thick, and neither of you recognizes the principle of how things must be." Ximen Zi said: "Please stop, sir! I dare not speak again." After Beigong Zi went home, wearing his short coarse cloth he had the warmth of fox and badger furs; eating beans he had the taste of rice and millet; sheltered in his brushwood hut he felt like in a grand hall's shade; riding his firewood cart he felt like having an ornamented carriage. All his life he was at ease, not knowing whether glory and disgrace were over there or in himself. Master Dongguo, hearing of it, said: "Beigong Zi has slept a long time, and one word could wake him; he is easy to awaken!"

管夷吾、鮑叔牙二人相友甚戚，同處於齊。管夷吾事公子糾，鮑叔牙事公子小白。齊公族多寵，嫡庶並行，國人懼亂。管仲與召忽奉公子糾奔魯，鮑叔奉公子小白奔莒。既而公孫無知作亂，齊無君，二公子爭入。管夷吾與小白戰於莒，道射中小白帶鉤。小白既立，脅魯殺子糾，召忽死之，管夷吾被囚。鮑叔牙謂桓公曰：「管夷吾能，可以治國。」桓公曰：「我讐也，願殺之。」鮑叔牙曰：「吾聞賢君無私怨，且人能為其主，亦必能為人君。如欲霸王，非夷吾其弗可。君必舍之！」遂召管仲。魯歸之，齊鮑叔牙郊迎，釋其囚。桓公禮之，而位於高國之上，鮑叔牙以身下之，任以國政，號曰仲父。桓公遂霸。管仲嘗歎曰：「吾少窮困時，嘗與鮑叔賈，分財多自與，鮑叔不以我為貪，知我貧也。吾嘗為鮑叔謀事而大窮困，鮑叔不以我為愚，知時有利不利也。吾嘗三仕，三見逐於君，鮑叔不以我為不肖，知我不遭時也。吾嘗三戰三北，鮑叔不以我為怯，知我有老母也。公子糾敗，召忽死之，吾幽囚受辱，鮑叔不以我為無恥，知我不羞小節而恥名不顯於天下也。生我者父母，知我者鮑叔也！」此世稱管鮑善交者，小白善用能者。然實無善交，實無用能也。實無善交、實無用能者，非更有善交、更有善用能也。召忽非能死，不得不死；鮑叔非能舉賢，不得不舉；小白非能用讐，不得不用。及管夷吾有病，小白問之，曰：「仲父之病病矣，可不諱。雲至於大病，則寡人惡乎屬國而可？」夷吾曰：「公誰欲歟？」小白曰：「鮑叔牙可。」曰：「不可。其為人也，潔廉善士也，其於不己若者不比之人，一聞人之過，終身不忘。使之理國，上且鉤乎君，下且逆乎民。其得罪於君也，將弗久矣。」小白曰：「然則孰可？」對曰：「勿已，則隰朋可。其為人也，上忘而下不叛，愧其不若黃帝而哀不己若者。

Guan Yiwu and Bao Shuya were very close friends and lived together in Qi. Guan Yiwu served Prince Jiu, and Bao Shuya served Prince Xiaobai. The ducal clan of Qi had many favorites, sons of wives and concubines stood side by side, and the people of the state feared disorder. Guan Zhong and Shao Hu took Prince Jiu and fled to Lu, and Bao Shu took Prince Xiaobai and fled to Ju. Afterward Gongsun Wuzhi made a rebellion, Qi was without a ruler, and the two princes raced to enter the state. Guan Yiwu fought Xiaobai on the road from Ju and shot him in the belt hook. After Xiaobai was established, he forced Lu to kill Prince Jiu; Shao Hu died, and Guan Yiwu was imprisoned. Bao Shuya said to Duke Huan: "Guan Yiwu is able and can govern the state." Duke Huan said: "He is my enemy, and I wish to kill him." Bao Shuya said: "I have heard that a worthy ruler has no private grudges, and moreover one who can serve his own lord can surely be a lord to others. If you wish to become hegemon, it must be Yiwu. Please pardon him, my lord!" So he summoned Guan Zhong. Lu sent him back, and Bao Shuya of Qi went to the outskirts to meet him and freed him from his bonds. Duke Huan treated him with courtesy, placing him above the Gao and Guo families, while Bao Shuya himself took a lower place and entrusted the government of the state to him, calling him Zhongfu. Duke Huan then became hegemon. Guan Zhong once sighed and said: "When I was young and poor, I once went into business with Bao Shu and took more of the profit for myself, and Bao Shu did not think me greedy, for he knew I was poor. I once planned something for Bao Shu and fell into great distress, and Bao Shu did not think me foolish, for he knew that times may be favorable or unfavorable. I held office three times and was dismissed by my lord three times, and Bao Shu did not think me unworthy, for he knew I had not met the right time. I fought three battles and was defeated three times, and Bao Shu did not think me a coward, for he knew I had an old mother. When Prince Jiu was defeated and Shao Hu died, I was imprisoned and disgraced, and Bao Shu did not think me shameless, for he knew I was not ashamed of small points of conduct but ashamed that my name was not known in the world. It was my parents who gave birth to me, but it was Bao Shu who knew me!" This is why people of the world praise Guan and Bao for their good friendship and Xiaobai for his good use of ability. But in truth there was no good friendship, and in truth there was no use of ability. In truth there was no good friendship and no use of ability, and it is not that there was anything else called good friendship or good use of ability. Shao Hu did not die because he was able to, but because he had to; Bao Shu did not recommend the worthy because he was able to, but because he had to; Xiaobai did not use an enemy because he was able to, but because he had to. When Guan Yiwu became ill, Xiaobai asked him: "Zhongfu's illness is serious, and one may now speak without taboo. If it comes to a grave illness, to whom should I entrust the state?" Yiwu said: "Whom does Your Lordship wish to use?" Xiaobai said: "Bao Shuya would do." He said: "No. As a man he is a pure and upright good scholar, but he does not draw close to those who are not his equal, and once he hears of a person's fault he never forgets it all his life. If he governed the state, above he would hook the ruler and below he would go against the people. He would offend the ruler and would not last long." Xiaobai said: "Then who can?" He answered: "If there is no help for it, then Xi Peng will do. As a man, above he can forget himself and below he does not rebel; he is ashamed that he is not equal to the Yellow Emperor and pities those who are not his equal.

以德分人謂之聖人，以財分人謂之賢人。以賢臨人，未有得人者也；以賢下人者，未有不得人者也。其於國有不聞也，其於家有不見也。勿已，則隰朋可。」然則管夷吾非薄鮑叔也，不得不薄；非厚隰朋也，不得不厚。厚之於始，或薄之於終；薄之於終，或厚之於始。厚薄之去來，弗由我也。

(Guan Zhong continued:) One who shares his virtue with others is called a sage, and one who shares his wealth with others is called a worthy. One who treats people from the position of a worthy never wins people; one who places himself below others from the position of a worthy never fails to win people. In the state there are things he does not hear, and in his household there are things he does not see. If there is no help for it, then Xi Peng will do." So Guan Yiwu did not think lightly of Bao Shu; he had to think lightly of him; he did not think highly of Xi Peng; he had to think highly of him. Thick at the start, perhaps thin at the end; thin at the end, perhaps thick at the start. The coming and going of thick and thin is not up to me.

鄧析操兩可之說，設無窮之辭，當子產執政，作《竹刑》。鄭國用之，數難子產之治。子產屈之。子產執而戮之，俄而誅之。然則子產非能用《竹刑》，不得不用；鄧析非能屈子產，不得不屈；子產非能誅鄧析，不得不誅也。

Deng Xi held the doctrine that both sides are permissible and set up endless arguments, and at the time Zi Chan was in office he made the Bamboo Penal Code. The state of Zheng used it, and it many times stumped Zi Chan's governance. Zi Chan was brought to submission. Zi Chan seized him, humiliated him, and soon had him executed. So Zi Chan did not use the Bamboo Penal Code because he was able to, but because he had to; Deng Xi did not humble Zi Chan because he was able to, but because he had to; Zi Chan did not execute Deng Xi because he was able to, but because he had to.

可以生而生，天福也；可以死而死，天福也。可以生而不生，天罰也；可以死而不死，天罰也。可以生，可以死，得生得死，有矣；不可以生，不可以死，或死或生，有矣。然而生生死死，非物非我，皆命也，智之所無柰何。故曰：窈然無際，天道自會；漠然無分，天道自運。天地不能犯，聖智不能幹，鬼魅不能欺。自然者默之成之，平之寧之，將之迎之。

To live when one can live is heaven's blessing; to die when one can die is heaven's blessing. To not live when one can live is heaven's punishment; to not die when one can die is heaven's punishment. That one can live and can die, and gets to live and die, does happen; that one cannot live and cannot die, and yet dies or lives, also happens. Yet living and dying, are neither things nor me; all is fate, and wisdom can do nothing about it. So it is said: dim and without limit, the Way of heaven comes together of itself; vast and without distinction, the Way of heaven runs of itself. Heaven and earth cannot encroach on it, sage wisdom cannot interfere with it, and ghosts and demons cannot deceive it. What is natural quietly completes it, levels it, calms it, sends it off and welcomes it.

楊朱之友曰季梁。季梁得病，七日大漸。其子環而泣之，請醫。季梁謂楊朱曰：「吾子不肖如此之甚，汝奚不為我歌以曉之？」楊朱歌曰：「天其弗識，人胡能覺？匪祐自天，弗孽由人。我乎汝乎，其弗知乎！醫乎巫乎，其知之乎？」其子弗曉，終謁三醫，一曰矯氏，二曰俞氏，三曰盧氏，診其所疾。矯氏謂季梁曰：「汝寒溫不節，虛實失度，病由飢飽色慾。精慮煩散，非天非鬼。雖漸，可攻也。」季梁曰：「眾醫也。亟屏之！」俞氏曰：「女始則胎氣不足，乳湩有餘。病非一朝一夕之故，其所由來漸矣，弗可已也。」季梁曰：「良醫也。且食之！」盧氏曰：「汝疾不由天，亦不由人，亦不由鬼。稟生受形，既有制之者矣，亦有知之者矣。藥石其如汝何？」季梁曰：「神醫也。重貺遣之！」俄而季梁之疾自瘳。

Yang Zhu's friend was named Ji Liang. Ji Liang fell ill, and on the seventh day was in danger. His sons gathered around weeping and asked for a doctor. Ji Liang said to Yang Zhu: "My sons are this unworthy; why don't you sing something to enlighten them for me?" Yang Zhu sang: "Heaven itself does not know, so how can man become aware? Blessing does not come from heaven, and calamity does not arise from man. I and you, do we know it? Doctor and shaman, do they know it?" The sons did not understand, and in the end called three doctors, one named Jiao, one named Yu, and one named Lu, who examined his illness. Doctor Jiao said to Ji Liang: "Your cold and warmth are not regulated, your emptiness and fullness have lost their measure, and your illness comes from hunger and fullness and sexual desire. Your vital essence and thoughts are disturbed and scattered, and it is not from heaven or ghosts. Though dangerous, it can be treated." Ji Liang said: "He is an ordinary doctor. Dismiss him at once!" Doctor Yu said: "At the start your embryonic breath was insufficient and your mother's milk too abundant. The illness is not from a single day or evening, but has come gradually, and cannot be stopped." Ji Liang said: "He is a good doctor. Give him something to eat for now!" Doctor Lu said: "Your illness is not from heaven, nor from man, nor from ghosts. In receiving life and taking form, there is something that governs it, and something that knows it. What can medicine and stone needles do to you?" Ji Liang said: "He is a divine doctor. Send him off with a generous reward!" Soon Ji Liang's illness got better by itself.

生非貴之所能存，身非愛之所能厚；生亦非賤之所能夭，身亦非輕之所能薄。故貴之或不生，賤之或不死；愛之或不厚，輕之或不薄。此似反也，非反也；此自生自死，自厚自薄。或貴之而生，或賤之而死；或愛之而厚，或輕之而薄。此似順也，非順也；此亦自生自死，自厚自薄。鬻熊語文王曰：「自長非所增，自短非所損。算之所亡若何？」老聃語關尹曰：「天之所惡，孰知其故？」言迎天意，揣利害，不如其已。

Life cannot be preserved by honoring it, and the body cannot be made thicker by loving it; life also cannot be cut short by despising it, and the body also cannot be made thinner by slighting it. So honoring it may not give life, and despising it may not bring death; loving it may not make it thick, and slighting it may not make it thin. This seems contrary but is not contrary; it is that each lives and dies of itself, and each is thick or thin of itself. Or one honors it and it lives, or despises it and it dies; or one loves it and it grows thick, or slights it and it grows thin. This seems in accord but is not in accord; this too is that each lives and dies of itself, and each is thick or thin of itself. Yu Xiong told King Wen: "What is long of itself cannot be increased, and what is short of itself cannot be reduced. What good is it to calculate what does not exist?" Lao Dan told Guan Yin: "What heaven dislikes, who knows the reason?" This says that it is better to stop than to cater to heaven's will and weigh gain and loss.

楊布問曰：「有人於此，年兄弟也，言兄弟也，才兄弟也，貌兄弟也，而壽夭父子也，貴賤父子也，名譽父子也，愛憎父子也。吾惑之。」楊子曰：「古之人有言，吾嘗識之，將以告若。不知所以然而然，命也。今昏昏昧昧，紛紛若若，隨所為，隨所不為。日去日來，孰能知其故？皆命也夫。信命者，亡壽夭；信理者，亡是非；信心者，亡逆順；信性者，亡安危。則謂之都亡所信，都亡所不信。真矣慤矣，奚去奚就？奚哀奚樂？奚為奚不為？黃帝之書云：『至人居若死，動若械。』亦不知所以居，亦不知所以不居；亦不知所以動，亦不知所以不動。亦不以眾人之觀易其情貌，亦不謂眾人之不觀不易其情貌。獨往獨來，獨出獨入，孰能礙之？」

Yang Bu asked: "Here is a person whose years are like those of a brother, whose speech is like a brother's, whose talent is like a brother's, whose looks are like a brother's, yet whose long or short life differs like father and son, whose high or low rank differs like father and son, whose fame differs like father and son, and whose being loved or hated differs like father and son. I am puzzled." Master Yang said: "The ancients had a saying which I once remembered, and I will tell you. Not to know why it is so and yet it is so, is fate. Now in the murk and dimness, in confusion and disorder, one follows what one does and what one does not do. The days go and the days come; who can know the reason? It is all fate. One who trusts fate has no long or short life; one who trusts principle has no right or wrong; one who trusts the heart has no contrary or following; one who trusts nature has no safety or danger. That is to say, he trusts in nothing and distrusts in nothing. When truly sincere, what is there to get rid of and what to keep? What to grieve and what to rejoice at? What to do and what not to do? The book of the Yellow Emperor says: 'The utmost person dwells like one dead and moves like a machine.' He does not know why he dwells, nor why he does not dwell; nor does he know why he moves, nor why he does not move. He does not change his feelings or looks because the crowd is watching, nor does he say that he would not change them if the crowd were not watching. Alone he goes and alone he comes, alone he goes out and alone he comes in; who can hinder him?"

墨杘、單至、嘽咺、憋懯四人相與遊於世，胥如志也。窮年不相知情，自以智之深也。巧佞、愚直、婩斫、便辟四人相與遊於世，胥如志也。窮年而不相語術，自以巧之微也。㺒㤉、情露、𧮈極、凌誶四人相與遊於世，胥如志也。窮年不相曉悟，自以為才之得也。眠娗、諈諉、勇敢、怯疑四人相與遊於世，胥如志也。窮年不相讁發，自以行無戾也。多偶、自專、乘權、隻立四人相與遊於世，胥如志也。窮年不相顧眄，自以時之適也。此眾態也，其貌不一，而鹹之於道，命所歸也。

Mo Qiu, Shan Zhi, Chan Xuan and Bie Yi, four people, consorted with each other in the world, each as he wished. All year they did not know one another's feelings, and each thought his own wisdom very deep. Qiao Ning, Yu Zhi, Wan Zhuo and Pian Bi, four people, consorted with each other in the world, each as he wished. All year they did not tell each other their tricks, and each thought his own cleverness very subtle. Zao Ji, Qing Lu, Ling Li and Ling Sui, four people, consorted with each other in the world, each as he wished. All year they did not enlighten one another, and each thought his own talent had something to show. Mian Ting, Wei Wei, Yong Gan and Qie Yi, four people, consorted with each other in the world, each as he wished. All year they did not point out each other's faults, and each thought his own conduct without fault. Duo Ou, Zi Zhuan, Cheng Quan and Zhi Li, four people, consorted with each other in the world, each as he wished. All year they did not look at each other, and each thought the times suited him just right. These many different attitudes, with looks that are not alike, all return to the Way, and are where fate returns.

佹佹成者，俏成也，初非成也；佹佹敗者，俏敗者也，初非敗也。故迷生於俏，俏之際昧然。於俏而不昧然，則不駭外禍，不喜內福，隨時動，隨時止，智不能知也。信命者於彼我無二心。於彼我而有二心者，不若揜目塞耳，背坂面隍亦不墜僕也。故曰：死生自命也，貧窮自時也。怨夭折者，不知命者也；怨貧窮者，不知時者也。當死不懼，在窮不戚，知命安時也。其使多智之人量利害，料虛實，度人情，得亦中，亡亦中。其少智之人不量利害，不料虛實，不度人情，得亦中，亡亦中。量與不量，料與不料，度與不度，奚以異？唯亡所量，亡所不量，則全而亡喪。亦非知全，亦非知喪。自全也，自亡也，自喪也。

What is almost completed seems completed, but at first it was not completed; what is almost ruined seems ruined, but at first it was not ruined. So confusion is born of likeness, and at the point of likeness there is dimness. One who is not dim about what is alike is not alarmed by outside misfortune, nor delighted by inner blessing, moves with the season and stops with the season, and wisdom cannot know it. One who trusts fate has no double mind about this and that. One who has a double mind about this and that is better off covering his eyes and stopping his ears, so that walking backward with his back to a slope toward a ditch, he would not fall. So it is said: life and death come from fate, and poverty comes from the times. One who resents dying young does not know fate; one who resents poverty does not know the times. To face death without fear and dwell in poverty without grief is to know fate and be at peace with the times. Let a person of much wisdom weigh gain and loss, estimate real and empty, and measure human feelings; when he gets he is right, and when he loses he is also right. A person of little wisdom does not weigh gain and loss, does not estimate real and empty, does not measure human feelings; when he gets he is right, and when he loses he is also right. What difference is there between weighing and not weighing, estimating and not estimating, measuring and not measuring? Only one who has nothing he weighs and nothing he does not weigh stays whole without loss. Nor does he know wholeness, nor does he know loss. Each is whole of itself, each perishes of itself, and each is lost of itself.

齊景公遊於牛山，北臨其國城而流涕曰：「美哉國乎！鬱鬱芊芊，若何滴滴去此國而死乎？使古無死者，寡人將去斯而之何？」史孔、梁丘據皆從而泣曰：「臣賴君之賜，疏食惡肉可得而食，駑馬稜車可得而乘也，且猶不欲死，而況吾君乎？」晏子獨笑於旁。公雪涕而顧晏子曰：「寡人今日之遊悲，孔與據皆從寡人而泣。子之獨笑，何也？」晏子對曰：「使賢者常守之，則太公桓公將常守之矣；使有勇者而常守之，則莊公靈公將常守之矣。數君者將守之，吾君方將被蓑笠而立乎畎畝之中，唯事之恤，行假念死乎？則吾君又安得此位而立焉？以其迭處之迭去之，至於君也，而獨為之流涕，是不仁也。見不仁之君，見諂諛之臣。臣見此二者，臣之所為獨竊笑也。」景公慙焉，舉觴自罰，罰二臣者各二觴焉。

Duke Jing of Qi was traveling on Mount Niu and wept facing north toward the capital of the state, saying: "How beautiful this state is! So lush and green; how could it be that I flow away like this, leave this state and die? If from ancient times no one had died, where would I be going from here?" Shi Kong and Liangqiu Ju both followed and wept, saying: "Because of Your Lordship's gifts, we can get coarse food and poor meat to eat, and poor horses and plain carts to ride, and still do not want to die; how much more our lord?" Master Yan alone laughed at the side. The duke wiped his tears, turned and said to Master Yan: "I am traveling today in great sorrow, and Kong and Ju both wept with me. Why do you alone laugh?" Master Yan answered: "If worthy men could always hold the position, Duke Tai and Duke Huan would always hold it; if brave men could always hold it, Duke Zhuang and Duke Ling would always hold it. If these rulers held it, our lord would now be standing in the fields wearing a straw cape and bamboo hat, worrying only about farm work, and how would he have time to think of dying? Then how would our lord have gotten this position to stand in? They took turns being there and taking turns leaving, and when it came to our lord, he alone weeps over this, which is unbenevolent. I see an unbenevolent ruler and I see flattering ministers. Seeing these two kinds of people is the reason I laughed to myself." Duke Jing was ashamed, raised a cup and punished himself, and punished the two ministers with two cups each.

魏人有東門吳者，其子死而不憂。其相室曰：「公之愛子，天下無有。今子死不憂，何也？」東門吳曰：「吾常無子，無子之時不憂。今子死，乃與嚮無子同，臣奚憂焉？」

There was a man of Wei named Dongmen Wu whose son died, yet he did not grieve. His steward said: "No one in the world loves a son more than you. Now your son has died and you do not grieve; why?" Dongmen Wu said: "I once had no son, and when I had no son I did not grieve. Now my son has died, so it is the same as before when I had no son; what is there to grieve?"

農赴時，商趣利，工追術，仕逐勢，勢使然也。然農有水旱，商有得失，工有成敗，仕有遇否，命使然也。

Farmers hurry to the seasons, merchants head for profit, artisans pursue skill, and officials chase power, and it is circumstance that makes them so. Yet farmers meet flood or drought, merchants gain or lose, artisans succeed or fail, and officials meet or do not meet a patron, and it is fate that makes them so.