Supreme Happiness

天下有至樂無有哉？有可以活身者無有哉？今奚為奚據？奚避奚處？奚就奚去？奚樂奚惡？

Is there supreme happiness in the world, or is there not? Is there something that can keep one's person alive, or is there not? Now what to do and what to rely on? What to avoid and where to dwell? What to approach and what to leave? What to delight in and what to hate?

夫天下之所尊者，富貴壽善也；所樂者，身安厚味美服好色音聲也；所下者，貧賤夭惡也；所苦者，身不得安逸，口不得厚味，形不得美服，目不得好色，耳不得音聲。若不得者，則大憂以懼，其為形也亦愚哉！

What the world honors is wealth, rank, long life and goodness; what it delights in is bodily ease, rich flavors, fine clothes, beautiful sights and music; what it looks down on is poverty, lowliness, early death and badness; what it suffers from is the body not getting ease, the mouth not getting rich flavors, the form not getting fine clothes, the eyes not getting beautiful sights and the ears not getting music. If one cannot get these, one worries greatly and fears; to do this for the sake of the body is also too foolish!

夫富者，苦身疾作，多積財而不得盡用，其為形也亦外矣。夫貴者，夜以繼日，思慮善否，其為形也亦疏矣。人之生也，與憂俱生，壽者惽惽，久憂不死，何苦也！其為形也亦遠矣。烈士為天下見善矣，未足以活身。吾未知善之誠善邪？誠不善邪？若以為善矣，不足活身；以為不善矣，足以活人。故曰：「忠諫不聽，蹲循勿爭。」故夫子胥爭之以殘其形，不爭，名亦不成。誠有善無有哉？

The rich toil bitterly with their bodies and work hard, accumulating much wealth that they cannot fully use; to do this for the sake of the body is also too outward. The noble work night and day, pondering whether things are good or not; to do this for the sake of the body is also too remote. A person's life is born together with worry, and the long-lived are befuddled, worrying long and not dying; how bitter! To do this for the sake of the body is also too far off. Martyrs are regarded by the world as good, yet it is not enough to keep their persons alive. I do not know whether that goodness is truly good or truly not good. If one regards it as good, it is not enough to keep one's person alive; if one regards it as not good, it is enough to keep others alive. So it is said: "If loyal remonstrance is not followed, withdraw and do not contend." So Wu Zixu contended and mutilated his own body, and if he had not contended, his name could not have been made. Is there really such a thing as goodness?

今俗之所為與其所樂，吾又未知樂之果樂邪，果不樂邪？吾觀夫俗之所樂，舉群趣者，誙誙然如將不得已，而皆曰樂者，吾未之樂也，亦未之不樂也。果有樂無有哉？吾以無為誠樂矣，又俗之所大苦也。故曰：「至樂無樂，至譽無譽。」

As for what the world does and delights in now, I again do not know whether the delight is truly delight or truly not delight. I see that what the world delights in is rushed to by whole crowds, anxious as if they could not help it, yet all say it is delight; I have never regarded it as delight, nor have I regarded it as not delight. Is there truly delight or not? I take non-action as true delight, yet it is what the world suffers from most. So it is said: "Supreme happiness has no happiness, and supreme praise has no praise."

天下是非果未可定也。雖然，無為可以定是非。至樂活身，唯無為幾存。請嘗試言之。天無為以之清，地無為以之寧。故兩無為相合，萬物皆化生。芒乎芴乎，而無從出乎！芴乎芒乎，而無有象乎！萬物職職，皆從無為殖。故曰，天地無為也而無不為也，人也孰能得無為哉！

The right and wrong of the world truly cannot yet be settled. Even so, non-action can settle right and wrong. Supreme happiness keeps one's person alive, and only non-action nearly preserves it. Let me try to speak of it. Heaven is non-acting and therefore clear, Earth is non-acting and therefore at peace. So when the two join in non-action, the ten thousand things all transform and are born. Vague and obscure, indistinct and hazy, it has nowhere it comes out from! Indistinct and hazy, vague and obscure, it has no form or image! The ten thousand things are many, and all are generated from non-action. So it is said: Heaven and Earth do nothing and yet nothing is left undone; who among people can attain non-action!

莊子妻死，惠子弔之，莊子則方箕踞鼓盆而歌。

Zhuangzi's wife died, and Huizi went to offer condolences, and found Zhuangzi sitting with legs spread, drumming on an earthen basin and singing.

惠子曰：「與人居，長子老身，死不哭亦足矣，又鼓盆而歌，不亦甚乎！」

Huizi said: "You lived with her, raised her children and grew old together; not weeping at her death is already enough, and drumming on a basin and singing, is that not going too far!"

莊子曰：「不然。是其始死也，我獨何能無概然！察其始而本無生，非徒無生也，而本無形，非徙無形也而本無氣。雜乎芒芴之間，變而有氣，氣變而有形，形變而有生。今又變而之死。是相與為春秋冬夏四時行也。人且偃然寢於巨室，而我噭噭然隨而哭之，自以為不通乎命，故止也。」

Zhuangzi said: "It is not so. When she first died, how could I alone not be moved! But I looked into her beginning, and originally she had no life; not only had no life, originally she had no form; not only had no form, originally she had no qi. Mixed in the vague and hazy, it changed and there was qi, the qi changed and there was form, the form changed and there was life. Now there is another change and she has gone to death. This is like the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter running in turn. She is now lying peacefully in a great house, and if I were to follow with wailing and weeping, I would think myself ignorant of fate, so I stopped."

支離叔與滑介叔觀於冥伯之丘，崑崙之虛，黃帝之所休。俄而柳生其左肘，其意蹶蹶然惡之。

Uncle Zhili and Uncle Huajie were observing at the Hill of Mingbo and the ruins of Kunlun, where the Yellow Emperor rested. Suddenly a tumor grew on his left elbow, and he felt a stiff dislike for it.

支離叔曰：「子惡之乎？」

Uncle Zhili said: "Do you dislike it?"

滑介叔曰：「亡，予何惡！生者，假借也。假之而生生者，塵垢也。死生為晝夜。且吾與子觀化而化及我，我又何惡焉！」

Uncle Huajie said: "No, what would I dislike! Life is a loan. What is born from a loan is dust and dirt. Death and life are day and night. Moreover, you and I are observing transformation, and transformation has reached me; what would I dislike!"

莊子之楚，見空髑髏，髐然有形，撽以馬捶，因而問之，曰：「夫子貪生失理，而為此乎？將子有亡國之事，斧鉞之誅，而為此乎？將子有不善之行，愧遺父母妻子之醜，而為此乎？將子有凍餒之患，而為此乎？將子之春秋故及此乎？」

Zhuangzi went to Chu and saw an empty skull, its dry bones in shape, and struck it with a horse whip, and asked it, saying: "Sir, did you come to this by greed for life and loss of principle? Or did you come to this through the ruin of a state or the punishment of axes? Or did you come to this by doing wrong and being ashamed to leave disgrace to your parents, wife and children? Or did you come to this by the trouble of cold and hunger? Or did your years and lifespan simply come to this?"

於是語卒，援髑髏，枕而臥。夜半，髑髏見夢曰：「子之談者似辯士，視子所言，皆生人之累也，死則無此矣。子欲聞死之說乎？」

When he had finished speaking, he pulled the skull over and lay down using it as a pillow. At midnight the skull appeared in a dream and said: "Your talk is like that of a debater. Looking at what you say, all of it is the burden of the living; in death there is none of this. Do you want to hear about death?"

莊子曰：「然。」

Zhuangzi said: "Yes."

髑髏曰：「死，無君於上，無臣於下，亦無四時之事，從然以天地為春秋，雖南面王樂，不能過也。」

The skull said: "In death, above there is no ruler, below there is no minister, and there are no affairs of the four seasons, and one freely takes Heaven and Earth as spring and autumn; even the joy of a king facing south could not exceed it."

莊子不信，曰：「吾使司命復生子形，為子骨肉肌膚，反子父母妻子閭裡知識，子欲之乎？」

Zhuangzi did not believe it and said: "If I had the Lord of Fate restore your form, give you bones, flesh and skin, and send you back to your parents, wife, children and acquaintances in the village, would you want that?"

髑髏深矉蹙頞曰：「吾安能棄南面王樂而復為人閒之勞乎！」

The skull frowned deeply and wrinkled its brow and said: "How could I give up the joy of a king facing south and again take on the toil of the human world!"

顏淵東之齊，孔子有憂色。子貢下席而問曰：「小子敢問，回東之齊，夫子有憂色，何邪？」

Yan Yuan was going east to Qi, and Confucius had a worried look. Zigong left his mat and asked: "May I ask, Hui is going east to Qi, and you, Master, look worried; why?"

孔子曰：「善哉汝問！昔者管子有言，丘甚善之，曰：『褚小者不可以懷大，綆短者不可以汲深。』夫若是者，以為命有所成而形有所適也，夫不可損益。吾恐回與齊侯言堯舜黃帝之道，而重以燧人神農之言。彼將內求於己而不得，不得則惑，人惑則死。

Confucius said: "You ask well! In the past Guanzi had a saying that I, Qiu, thought very good: 'A small bag cannot wrap something large, and a short rope cannot draw from a deep well.' This means that fate has what it completes and the body has what it suits, which cannot be added to or subtracted from. I fear that when he goes back to speak to the Marquis of Qi about the way of Yao, Shun and the Yellow Emperor, and then adds the words of Suiren and Shennong, the Marquis of Qi will seek it within himself and not find it, and not finding it he will be confused, and a confused person dies.

且女獨不聞邪？昔者海鳥止於魯郊，魯侯御而觴之於廟，奏九韶以為樂，具太牢以為膳。鳥乃眩視憂悲，不敢食一臠，不敢飲一杯，三日而死。此以己養養鳥也，非以鳥養養鳥也。夫以鳥養養鳥者，宜棲之深林，遊之壇陸，浮之江湖，食之鰌䱔，隨行列而止，委虵而處。彼唯人言之惡聞，奚以夫譊譊為乎！咸池九韶之樂，張之洞庭之野，鳥聞之而飛，獸聞之而走，魚聞之而下入，人卒聞之，相與還而觀之。魚處水而生，人處水而死，彼必相與異，其好惡故異也。故先聖不一其能，不同其事。名止於實，義設於適，是之謂條達而福持。」

(Confucius continued:) "Moreover, have you not heard? In the past a seabird alighted in the suburbs of Lu, and the Marquis of Lu welcomed it, gave it wine in the temple, played the Nine Shao as music for it, and prepared the grand sacrifice of ox, sheep and pig as its meal. The bird was dazzled, grieved and worried, did not dare eat a piece of meat or drink a cup, and died in three days. This was nourishing a bird by the way of nourishing oneself, not by the way of nourishing a bird. To nourish a bird by the way of nourishing a bird, one should let it perch in a deep forest, roam on the shore, float on rivers and lakes, eat loaches and minnows, stop with the flock, and settle at ease. It only dislikes hearing human voices; what need is there for such clamor! The music of the Xianchi and the Nine Shao, performed in the wilds of Dongting, makes birds hear it and fly, beasts hear it and run, fish hear it and sink, and people hear it and gather round to watch. Fish live in water and people die in water; they surely differ from each other, and their likes and dislikes are therefore different. So the former sages did not take their abilities as the same and did not take their affairs as identical. Names stop at reality and righteousness is set on suitability; this is called being well-ordered and holding to blessing."

列子行食於道從，見百歲髑髏，攓蓬而指之曰：「唯予與汝知而未嘗死，未嘗生也。若果養乎？予果歡乎？」

Liezi was traveling and ate by the roadside, and saw a hundred-year-old skull; he parted the weeds, pointed at it and said: "Only you and I know that you have never died and never lived. Are you really sorrowful? Am I really glad?"

種有幾，得水則為㡭，得水土之際則為鼃蠙之衣，生於陵屯則為陵舄，陵舄得鬱棲則為烏足，烏足之根為蠐螬，其葉為胡蝶。胡蝶胥也化而為蟲，生於灶下，其狀若脫，其名為鴝掇。鴝掇千日為鳥，其名為乾餘骨。乾餘骨之沫為斯彌，斯彌為食醯。頤輅生乎食醯，黃軦生乎九猷，瞀芮生乎腐蠸，羊奚比乎不箰，久竹生青寧，青寧生程，程生馬，馬生人，人又反入於機。萬物皆出於機，皆入於機。

Seeds have germs; with water they become ji, with the edge of water and earth they become the garment of frogs and shells, born on a mound they become ling-xi (plantain), plantain with manure and soil becomes wu-zu, the root of wu-zu becomes a grub and its leaves become butterflies. The butterfly soon transforms into an insect, born under the stove, its shape like a shed skin, called qu-duo. Qu-duo after a thousand days becomes a bird, named Ganyu-gu (the name of a bird; here "yu" is part of a name and not "I"). The foam of Ganyu-gu becomes simi, and simi becomes shixi. Yilu is born from shixi, huangshuang from jiuyou, maorui from fuquan; yangxi paired with bamboo that does not sprout; old bamboo gives birth to qingning, qingning gives birth to cheng, cheng gives birth to the horse, the horse gives birth to man, and man again returns and enters the mechanism. All the ten thousand things come out of the mechanism and enter into the mechanism.

達生之情者，不務生之所無以為；達命之情者，不務知之所無柰何。養形必先之以物，物有餘而形不養者有之矣。有生必先無離形，形不離而生亡者有之矣。生之來不能卻，其去不能止。悲夫！世之人以為養形足以存生；而養形果不足以存生，則世奚足為哉！雖不足為而不可不為者，其為不免矣。

One who understands the true state of life does not strive for what life cannot do; one who understands the true state of fate does not strive to know what cannot be helped. To nourish the body one must first use things, yet there are already cases where there are surplus things and the body is not nourished. To have life one must first not leave the body, yet there are already cases where the body has not left and life is already lost. Life's coming cannot be refused, and its going cannot be stopped. How sad! People in the world think nourishing the body is enough to preserve life; and if nourishing the body truly is not enough to preserve life, then what is there in the world worth doing! Though not worth doing, yet what one cannot but do, that doing is unavoidable.

夫欲免為形者，莫如棄世。棄世則無累，無累則正平，正平則與彼更生，更生則幾矣。事奚足棄而生奚足遺？棄事則形不勞，遺生則精不虧。夫形全精復，與天為一。天地者，萬物之父母也。合則成體，散則成始。形精不虧，是謂能移。精而又精，反以相天。

One who wishes to be free from being enslaved by the body had best abandon the world. Abandoning the world leaves no entanglement; no entanglement means rectitude and balance; with rectitude and balance one is renewed along with that, and renewal brings one near. What is there in affairs worth abandoning, what in life worth discarding? When affairs are abandoned the body is not wearied; when life is discarded the vital essence is not diminished. When the body is whole and the essence restored, one becomes one with Heaven. Heaven and Earth are the parents of the myriad things. Joined, they form a body; scattered, they become a beginning. When body and essence are undiminished, this is called being able to transform. Refined and again refined, one turns back to assist Heaven.

子列子問關尹曰：「至人潛行不窒，蹈火不熱，行乎萬物之上而不慄。請問何以至於此？」

Master Liezi asked Guan Yin: "The perfect man walks under water without choking, treads on fire without being hot, and walks above the myriad things without trembling. May I ask how he comes to this?"

關尹曰：「是純氣之守也，非知巧果敢之列。居，予語女！凡有貌象聲色者，皆物也，物與物何以相遠？夫奚足以至乎先？是色而已。則物之造乎不形而止乎無所化，夫得是而窮之者，物焉得而止焉！彼將處乎不淫之度，而藏乎無端之紀，遊乎萬物之所終始。壹其性，養其氣，合其德，以通乎物之所造。夫若是者，其天守全，其神無郤，物奚自入焉！

Guan Yin said: "This is the keeping of pure qi, and is not a matter of cleverness, skill, or boldness. Sit down, and I will tell you! All that has shape, appearance, sound, and color is a thing; what makes one thing so far different from another? How is any of it worthy of being first? It is only color. Then, one who reaches the point where things are made but do not take form and rest in what is without transformation, who obtains this and exhausts it, how could things stop him! He will dwell within the limit that does not overstep, hide in the thread that has no end, and roam where the myriad things end and begin. He is single-minded in his nature, nourishes his qi, unites with his virtue, and so is open to what makes things. Such a man keeps his Heaven whole and his spirit has no cracks; from where could things enter!

夫醉者之墜車，雖疾不死。骨節與人同而犯害與人異，其神全也，乘亦不知也，墜亦不知也，死生驚懼不入乎其胷中，是故𨕣物而不慴。彼得全於酒而猶若是，而況得全於天乎？聖人藏於天，故莫之能傷也。復讎者不折鏌幹，雖有忮心者不怨飄瓦，是以天下平均。故無攻戰之亂，無殺戮之刑者，由此道也。

(Guan Yin continued:) "A drunken man who falls from a carriage, though hurt, does not die. His bones and joints are the same as others', yet he is harmed differently, because his spirit is whole. He did not know he was riding and did not know he was falling; death, life, alarm, and fear do not enter his chest, and so he meets things without fear. If he can gain wholeness from wine like this, how much more from Heaven? The sage hides in Heaven, so no one can hurt him. One who seeks revenge does not break the sword Moye (the word "gan" in Ganjiang here is a sword's name, not 'interfere'), and even a man full of resentment does not blame a falling tile; and so the world is at peace. The reason there is no disorder of attack and war, and no punishment of slaughter, is this Way.

不開人之天，而開天之天，開天者德生，開人者賊生。不厭其天，不忽於人，民幾乎以其真！」

(Guan Yin continued:) "Do not open up the Heaven of man; open up the Heaven of Heaven. When the Heaven of Heaven is opened, virtue is born; when the Heaven of man is opened, harm is born. Do not despise his Heaven, do not neglect the human; and the people will nearly use their truth!"

仲尼適楚，出於林中，見痀僂者承蜩，猶掇之也。

Confucius went to Chu, and coming out of a forest saw a hunchback catching cicadas with a sticky pole as easily as picking them up.

仲尼曰：「子巧乎！有道邪？」

Confucius said: "How skillful you are! Do you have a Way?"

曰：「我有道也。五六月累丸二而不墜，則失者錙銖；累三而不墜，則失者十一；累五而不墜，猶掇之也。吾處身也，若厥株拘；吾執臂也，若槁木之枝。雖天地之大，萬物之多，而唯蜩翼之知。吾不反不側，不以萬物易蜩之翼，何為而不得。」

(The hunchback) said: "I have a Way. For five or six months I practiced balancing two balls on the pole without dropping them, and then I lost only a tiny amount; balancing three balls without dropping them, I lose one in ten; balancing five balls without dropping them, it is like picking them up. I set my body like a standing stump; I hold my arm like the branch of a withered tree. Although Heaven and Earth are great and the myriad things many, I know only the cicada's wings. I do not turn and do not lean, and I would not trade the myriad things for the cicada's wings; how could I fail?"

孔子顧謂弟子曰：「用志不分，乃凝於神，其痀僂丈人之謂乎！」

Confucius turned to his disciples and said: "When the will is not divided, it is concentrated in spirit; this is what is said of this old hunchback!"

顏淵問仲尼曰：「吾嘗濟乎觴深之淵，津人操舟若神。吾問焉，曰：『操舟可學邪？』曰：『可。善遊者數能。若乃夫沒人，則未嘗見舟而便操之也。』吾問焉而不吾告，敢問何謂也？」

Yan Yuan asked Confucius: "I once crossed the deep pool of Shang, and the ferryman handled the boat like a spirit. I asked him, 'Can handling a boat be learned?' He said: 'It can. One good at swimming can do it after a few tries. As for one who can dive, he can handle a boat without ever having seen one.' I asked him but he would not tell me; may I ask what this means?"

仲尼曰：「善遊者數能，忘水也；若乃夫沒人之未嘗見舟而便操之也，彼視淵若陵，視舟之履猶其車卻也。覆卻萬方陳乎前而不得入其舍，惡往而不暇！以瓦注者巧，以鉤注者憚，以黃金注者㱪。其巧一也，而有所矜，則重外也。凡外重者內拙。」

Confucius said: "One good at swimming can do it after a few tries because he forgets the water; as for one who can dive and handle a boat without ever having seen one, he sees the deep pool as a hill and the capsizing of the boat as a cart backing up. Capsizing and retreat in all their variety are set before him and cannot enter his dwelling; where could he not be at ease! One who bets with tiles is skillful; one who bets with belt hooks is afraid; one who bets with gold is confused. The skill is the same, but when there is something he cares about, he values what is outside. Whoever values what is outside is clumsy within."

田開之見周威公，威公曰：「吾聞祝腎學生，吾子與祝腎遊，亦何聞焉？」

Tian Kaizhi visited Duke Wei of Zhou. Duke Wei said: "I have heard that Zhu Shen studied how to nourish life; you traveled with Zhu Shen, and what did you hear?"

田開之曰：「開之操拔篲以侍門庭，亦何聞於夫子！」

Tian Kaizhi said: "I only held a broom and waited at his gate and courtyard; what could I hear from the Master!"

威公曰：「田子無讓，寡人願聞之。」

Duke Wei said: "Master Tian, do not be modest; I would like to hear."

開之曰：「聞之夫子曰：『善養生者，若牧羊然，視其後者而鞭之。』」

Kaizhi said: "I heard the Master say: 'One who is good at nourishing life is like a shepherd who watches for the sheep that lag behind and whips them.'"

威公曰：「何謂也？」

Duke Wei said: "What does this mean?"

田開之曰：「魯有單豹者，巖居而水飲，不與民共利，行年七十而猶有嬰兒之色，不幸遇餓虎，餓虎殺而食之。有張毅者，高門縣薄，無不走也，行年四十而有內熱之病以死。豹養其內而虎食其外，毅養其外而病攻其內，此二子者，皆不鞭其後者也。」

Tian Kaizhi said: "In Lu there was a man named Shan Bao, who lived in a cave and drank water, and did not share profit with the people; at the age of seventy he still had the complexion of a baby. Unfortunately he met a hungry tiger, and the hungry tiger killed and ate him. There was also Zhang Yi, who visited every house, high gate or low door; at forty he died of an internal fever. Bao nourished his inside and the tiger ate his outside; Yi nourished his outside and disease attacked his inside; both of these men failed to whip what lagged behind in themselves."

仲尼曰：「無入而藏，無出而陽，柴立其中央。三者若得，其名必極。夫畏塗者，十殺一人，則父子兄弟相戒也，必盛卒徒而後敢出焉，不亦知乎！人之所取畏者，袵席之上，飲食之閒，而不知為之戒者，過也！」

Confucius said: "Do not go in and hide, do not come out and show off, but stand in the middle like a withered tree. If one gets all three, his name is sure to reach the highest. Those who fear the road, if one in ten is killed, fathers, sons, and brothers warn each other and are sure to gather a big company before they dare go out; is that not wise! What people ought to fear most is what is on the bed and mat and in food and drink, yet not to know to be on guard against this is a mistake!"

祝宗人玄端以臨牢筴，說彘曰：「汝奚惡死！吾將三月㹖汝，十日戒，三日齊，藉白茅，加汝肩尻乎彫俎之上，則汝為之乎？」為彘謀，曰不如食以糠糟而錯之牢筴之中。自為謀，則苟生有軒冕之尊，死得於腞楯之上、聚僂之中則為之。為彘謀則去之，自為謀則取之，所異彘者何也？

The priest of sacrifice, in dark ceremonial robes, came to the pigsty and urged the pigs: "Why do you hate dying! I will feed you for three months, fast for ten days, abstain for three days, spread white rushes, and set your shoulders and rump on a carved platter; would you want that?" Planning for the pigs, he said it would be better to feed them chaff and dregs and keep them in the pen. Planning for himself, he would gladly have, while alive, the honor of carriage and cap, and after death, to lie on a decorated hearse in his coffin and outer coffin. Planning for the pigs, he discards these; planning for himself, he takes them; how is that different from the pigs?

桓公田於澤，管仲御，見鬼焉。公撫管仲之手曰：「仲父何見？」對曰：「臣無所見。」

Duke Huan was hunting in a marsh, with Guan Zhong driving the chariot, and saw a ghost. Duke Huan pressed Guan Zhong's hand and said: "What did Uncle Zhong see?" He answered: "I saw nothing."

公反，誒詒為病，數日不出。齊士有皇子告敖者曰：「公則自傷，鬼惡能傷公！夫忿滀之氣，散而不反，則為不足；上而不下，則使人善怒；下而不上，則使人善忘；不上不下，中身當心，則為病。」

Duke Huan returned and, with his spirit lost, fell ill, and for several days did not go out. A gentleman of Qi named Huangzi Gao'ao said: "Your Lordship has harmed yourself; how could a ghost harm you! When the qi of anger accumulates and scatters without returning, it becomes deficient; when it rises and does not descend, it makes a man prone to anger; when it descends and does not rise, it makes a man prone to forgetfulness; when it neither rises nor descends and sits in the body right at the heart, it becomes illness."

桓公曰：「然則有鬼乎？」

Duke Huan said: "Then are there ghosts?"

曰：「有。沈有履。灶有髻。戶內之煩壤，雷霆處之；東北方之下者，倍阿鮭蠪躍之；西北方之下者，則泆陽處之。水有罔象，丘有崒，山有夔，野有彷徨，澤有委蛇。」

(Huangzi Gao'ao) said: "There are. In the muck at the bottom there is the Li; the stove has the Ji. In the filthy soil inside the doorway the Thunder-and-Lightning dwells; below the northeast the Beia and Guilong leap about; below the northwest the Yiyang dwells. Water has the Wangxiang, hills have the Xin, mountains have the Kui, wilds have the Pang Huang, and marshes have the Weishe." (Here "muck" means silt at the bottom of water, not the place name Shen.)

公曰：「請問委蛇之狀何如？」

Duke Huan said: "May I ask what the Weishe looks like?"

皇子曰：「委蛇，其大如轂，其長如轅，紫衣而朱冠。其為物也，惡聞雷車之聲，則捧其首而立。見之者殆乎霸。」

Huangzi said: "The Weishe is as big as a cart hub and as long as a shaft, with a purple robe and a red cap. As a creature, it hates hearing the sound of thunder chariots, and then stands holding its head. One who sees it will nearly become a hegemon."

桓公辴然而笑曰：「此寡人之所見者也。」於是正衣冠與之坐，不終日而不知病之去也。

Duke Huan laughed brightly and said: "That is exactly what I saw." Then he straightened his robe and cap and sat with him, and before a day had passed, he did not know that his illness had gone.

紀渻子為王養鬬雞。

Ji Xingzi raised a fighting cock for the king.

十日而問：「雞已乎？」曰：「未也，方虛憍而恃氣。」

After ten days the king asked: "Is the cock ready?" He said: "Not yet; it is still vain and proud, and relies on its spirit."

十日又問，曰：「未也，猶應嚮景。」

After another ten days he asked again, and said: "Not yet; it still responds to sounds and shadows."

十日又問，曰：「未也，猶疾視而盛氣。」

After another ten days he asked again, and said: "Not yet; it still glares and is full of spirit."

十日又問，曰：「幾矣，雞雖有鳴者，已無變矣，望之似木雞矣，其德全矣。異雞無敢應者，反走矣。」

After another ten days he asked again, and said: "Nearly. Though other cocks crow, it no longer changes; looking at it, it is like a wooden cock, its virtue is whole. Other cocks dare not respond to it, and instead run away."

孔子觀於呂梁，縣水三十仞，流沫四十里，黿鼉魚鼈之所不能遊也。見一丈夫遊之，以為有苦而欲死也，使弟子並流而拯之。數百步而出，被髮行歌而遊於塘下。

Confucius was viewing Lüliang, where a waterfall hung thirty ren and the foam flowed forty li, so that even turtles, crocodiles, fish, and tortoises could not swim in it. He saw a man swimming there and thought he was in distress and wanted to die, and sent his disciples along the bank to rescue him. After swimming several hundred paces he came out, hair loose, walking and singing, and strolled beneath the embankment.

孔子從而問焉，曰：「吾以子為鬼，察子則人也。請問，蹈水有道乎？」

Confucius followed him and asked: "I thought you were a ghost, but looking at you, you are a man. May I ask, is there a Way to treading water?"

曰：「亡，吾無道。吾始乎故，長乎性，成乎命。與齊俱入，與汩偕出，從水之道而不為私焉。此吾所以蹈之也。」

(The man) said: "No, I have no Way. I began with the familiar, grew with my nature, and was completed by fate. I go in with the whirlpool and come out with the surge, following the Way of the water and not acting on my own; this is how I tread water."

孔子曰：「何謂始乎故，長乎性，成乎命？」

Confucius said: "What do you mean by beginning with the familiar, growing with nature, and being completed by fate?"

曰：「吾生於陵而安於陵，故也；長於水而安於水，性也；不知吾所以然而然，命也。」

(The man) said: "I was born on the land and am at ease on land: that is the familiar. I grew up in the water and am at ease in water: that is nature. Not knowing why I am so and yet being so: that is fate."

梓慶削木為鐻，鐻成，見者驚猶鬼神。魯侯見而問焉，曰：「子何術以為焉？」

Craftsman Qing carved wood to make a bell stand, and when it was done, those who saw it were amazed as if it were made by ghosts and spirits. The Marquis of Lu saw it and asked him: "By what art did you make it?"