03

修身以為弓，矯思以為矢，立義以為的，奠而後發，發必中矣。

Take self-cultivation as the bow, correcting one's thoughts as the arrow, and establishing righteousness as the target; shoot once settled, and when you shoot you will surely hit.

人之性也善惡混。修其善則為善人，修其惡則為惡人。氣也者，所以適善惡之馬也與？

A person's nature is a mixture of good and evil. Cultivate the good in it and one becomes a good person; cultivate the evil in it and one becomes an evil person. Qi is perhaps the horse that drives a person toward good or evil?

或曰：「孔子之事多矣，不用，則亦勤且憂乎？」曰：「聖人樂天知命，樂天則不勤，知命則不憂。」

Someone said: "Confucius had so much he ought to do yet was not employed; was he also weary and worried?" Yang Xiong said: "The sage delights in Heaven and knows his fate. Delighting in Heaven, he is not weary; knowing his fate, he is not worried."

或問「銘」。曰：「銘哉！銘哉！有意於慎也。」

Someone asked about "inscriptions". Yang Xiong said: "Inscriptions! Inscriptions! They are the mind's intent to be careful."

聖人之辭，可為也；使人信之，所不可為也。是以君子彊學而力行。

The sage's writing can be learned and imitated; making people believe it cannot be forced. Therefore the gentleman works hard to learn and works hard to practice.

珍其貨而後市，修其身而後交，善其謀而後動成道也。

First cherish your goods and then go to market, first cultivate yourself and then associate with others, first perfect your plans and then act; this is the proper way to accomplish things.

君子之所慎：言、禮、書。

What the gentleman is careful about: speech, ritual, and writing.

上交不諂，下交不驕，則可以有為矣。或曰：「君子自守，奚其交？」曰：「天地交，萬物生；人道交，功勳成，奚其守？」

Associating upward without fawning and downward without arrogance, one can accomplish something. Someone said: "The gentleman need only keep to himself; why associate?" Yang Xiong said: "When heaven and earth meet, the ten thousand things are born; when human relations meet, achievements are made; why merely keep to oneself?"

好大而不為，大不大矣；好高而不為，高不高矣。

If one likes greatness but does not act on it, the great is no longer great; if one likes loftiness but does not act on it, the lofty is no longer lofty.

仰天庭而知天下之居卑也哉！

Only on looking up at the heavenly court do you realize how low the place where people live under heaven is!

公儀子、董仲舒之才之邵也，使見善不明，用心不剛，儔克爾？

The talent and virtue of Gongyi Xiu and Dong Zhongshu were so fine; had they been unclear in seeing the good and not firm in purpose, who could have attained what they did?

或問「仁、義、禮、智、信之用」。曰：「仁，宅也；義，路也；禮，服也；智，燭也；信，符也。處宅，由路，正服，明燭，執符，君子不動，動斯得矣。」

Someone asked about "the uses of benevolence, righteousness, ritual, wisdom and trustworthiness". Yang Xiong said: "Benevolence is the dwelling, righteousness is the road, ritual is the clothing, wisdom is the candle, and trustworthiness is the tally. Living in the dwelling, walking on the road, putting on proper clothing, lighting the candle and holding the tally, the gentleman does not move rashly, and when he moves he is on target."

有意哉！孟子曰：「夫有意而不至者有矣，未有無意而至者也。」

Having an aim! Mencius said: "There are those who have an aim and do not reach it, but I have never seen one without an aim who reached it."

或問「治己」。曰：「治己以仲尼。」或曰：「治己以仲尼，仲尼奚寡也？」曰：「率馬以驥，不亦可乎？」或曰：「田圃田者，莠喬喬；思遠人者，心忉忉。」曰：「日有光，月有明。三年不目日，視必盲；三年不目月，精必矇。熒魂曠枯，糟莩曠沈，擿埴索塗，冥行而已矣。」

Someone asked about "governing oneself". Yang Xiong said: "Govern oneself with Confucius." Someone said: "If one governs oneself with Confucius, why are there so few like Confucius?" Yang Xiong said: "Is it not also acceptable to lead a herd of horses with a thousand-mile steed?" Someone said: "One who tends a field plot finds the weeds grow tall; one who longs for a distant person is grieved at heart." Yang Xiong said: "The sun has light, the moon has brightness. If for three years you do not look at the sun, your eyes will surely go blind; if for three years you do not look at the moon, your sight will surely grow dim. When the spirit has long been parched and the dregs and froth have long been buried, one can only be like a blind man feeling the way with a staff, walking in the dark."

或問：「何如斯謂之人？」曰：「取四重，去四輕，則可謂之人。」曰：「何謂四重？」曰：「重言，重行，重貌，重好。言重則有法，行重則有德，貌重則有威，好重則有觀。」「敢問四輕。」曰：「言輕則招憂，行輕則招辜，貌輕則招辱，好輕則招淫。」

Someone asked: "How can one be called a person?" Yang Xiong said: "Take on four kinds of gravity and drop four kinds of levity, and one can be called a person." Asked: "What are the four kinds of gravity?" Yang Xiong said: "Weighty speech, weighty conduct, weighty appearance and weighty tastes. With weighty speech there is rule; with weighty conduct there is virtue; with weighty appearance there is dignity; with weighty tastes there is something worth seeing." "May I ask about the four kinds of levity?" Yang Xiong said: "Light speech invites trouble, light conduct invites offense, light appearance invites disgrace, and light tastes invite excess."

《禮》多儀。或曰：「日𣅔不食肉，肉必乾；日𣅔不飲酒，酒必酸。賓主百拜而酒三行，不已華乎？」曰：「實無華則野，華無實則賈，華實副則禮。」

The Rites contain many ceremonial details. Someone said: "If the sun has passed its zenith and one still has not eaten the meat, the meat will surely dry out; if the sun has passed its zenith and one still has not drunk the wine, the wine will surely turn sour. For host and guest to bow a hundred times before the three rounds of wine is surely too showy?" Yang Xiong said: "With substance only and no refinement, one is coarse; with refinement only and no substance, one is like a merchant; when refinement and substance match each other, that is ritual."

山雌之肥，其意得乎！或曰：「回之簞瓢，臞如之何？」曰：「明明在上，百官牛羊，亦山雌也；闇闇在上，簞瓢捽茹，亦山雌也，何其臞？千鈞之輕，烏獲力也；簞瓢之樂，顏氏德也。」

The hen pheasant in the mountains is so plump; her heart must be content! Someone said: "Yan Hui, with a single bamboo bowl of rice and a single gourd of water, grew so thin; what of it?" Yang Xiong said: "If the ruler above is enlightened and the hundred officials and the cattle and sheep are all provided, one is still just the mountain hen pheasant; if the ruler above is dim, with only a bamboo bowl, a gourd and wild greens, one is still just the mountain hen pheasant; how could one be thin? To find a thousand jun still light is the strength of Wu Huo; to be able to find joy in a bowl and a gourd is the virtue of the Yan family."

或問：「犂牛之鞹與玄騂之鞹有以異乎？」曰：「同。」「然則何以不犂也？」曰：「將致孝乎鬼神，不敢以其犂也。如刲羊刺豕，罷賓犒師，惡在犂不犂也！」

Someone asked: "Is there a difference between the hide of a mottled ox and that of a black-red ox?" Yang Xiong said: "They are the same." "Then why not use the mottled ox for sacrifice?" Yang Xiong said: "When showing filial devotion to ghosts and spirits, one does not dare use the mottled one. If one is slaughtering sheep and pigs to entertain guests or reward the army, what does it matter whether it is mottled or not!"

有德者好問聖人。或曰：「魯人鮮德，奚其好問仲尼也？」曰：「魯未能好問仲尼故也。如好問仲尼，則魯作東周矣。」

The virtuous like to consult the sage. Someone said: "Few men of Lu have virtue; why do they like to consult Confucius?" Yang Xiong said: "Precisely because Lu has not yet truly liked to consult Confucius. If it did like to consult Confucius, Lu could become the Zhou of the east."

或問：「人有倚孔子之牆，弦鄭、衛之聲，誦韓、莊之書，則引諸門乎？」曰：「在夷貉則引之，倚門牆則麾之，惜乎衣未成而轉為裳也。」

Someone asked: "If a person leans against Confucius's wall, strums the tunes of Zheng and Wei, and recites the books of Han Fei and Zhuangzi, would you still bring him in through the door?" Yang Xiong said: "If he were among the Yi and Mo barbarians, I would bring him in; since he is already leaning against the gate and wall and still does so, I would wave him away. It is a pity that the upper garment is not yet finished, and yet one has first altered it into a lower skirt."

聖人耳不順乎非、口不肄乎善，賢者耳擇、口擇，眾人無擇焉。或問「眾人」。曰：「富貴生。」「賢者」。曰：「義。」「聖人」。曰：「神。」觀乎賢人，則見眾人；觀乎聖人，則見賢人；觀乎天地，則見聖人。天下有三好：眾人好己從，賢人好己正，聖人好己師。天下有三檢：眾人用家檢，賢人用國檢，聖人用天下檢。天下有三門：由於情慾，入自禽門；由於禮義，入自人門；由於獨智，入自聖門。

The sage's ears do not follow error and his mouth does not practice what is unkind; the worthy must be selective in listening and in speaking; the common person is not selective at all. Someone asked about the "common person." Yang Xiong said: "He knows only wealth, rank and staying alive." Asked about the "worthy." Yang Xiong said: "Righteousness." Asked about the "sage." Yang Xiong said: "Spirit." Observe the worthy and one can see the common person; observe the sage and one can see the worthy; observe Heaven and Earth and one can see the sage. There are three kinds of liking under Heaven: the common person likes others to follow him, the worthy likes others to correct him, and the sage likes others to take him as their teacher. There are three kinds of restraint under Heaven: the common person is restrained by his family, the worthy by his state, and the sage by the whole world. There are three gates under Heaven: following passion and desire, one enters the gate of birds and beasts; following ritual and righteousness, one enters the gate of humans; following unique wisdom, one enters the gate of the sage.

或問：「士何如斯可以禔身？」曰：「其為中也弘深，其為外也肅括，則可以禔身矣。」

Someone asked: "How can a scholar-official keep himself secure?" Yang Xiong said: "If within he is broad and deep, and without he is solemn and upright, he can keep himself secure."

君子微慎厥德，悔吝不至，何元憞之有？

A noble person is careful about his virtue in the smallest things, and regret and humiliation do not come to him; how could any great evil arise?

上士之耳訓乎德，下士之耳順乎己。

The ears of a superior scholar listen to virtue for guidance; the ears of an inferior scholar follow only themselves.

言不慙、行不恥者，孔子憚焉。

One who feels no shame in his words and no disgrace in his deeds is feared even by Confucius.

或問「道」。曰：「道也者，通也，無不通也。」或曰：「可以適它與？」曰：「適堯、舜、文王者為正道，非堯、舜、文王者為它道。君子正而不它。」

Someone asked about the "Way." Yang Xiong said: "The Way is passage; there is nowhere it does not reach." Someone said: "May it lead elsewhere?" Yang Xiong said: "What leads to Yao, Shun and King Wen is the right way; what does not lead to Yao, Shun and King Wen is a side road. The noble person takes the right way and not the side road."

或問「道」。曰：「道若塗若川，車航混混，不捨晝夜。」或曰：「焉得直道而由諸？」曰：「塗雖曲而通諸夏則由諸，川雖曲而通諸海則由諸。」或曰：「事雖曲而通諸聖則由諸乎？」

Someone asked about the "Way." Yang Xiong said: "The Way is like a road or a river, with carts and boats rolling along, never stopping day or night." Someone said: "Where can one find a straight way to travel?" Yang Xiong said: "Though the road is winding, if it leads to the central land, take it; though the river is winding, if it leads to the sea, take it." Someone said: "Though matters are twisting, if they lead to the sage, does one take them too?"

道、德、仁、義、禮，譬諸身乎？夫道以導之，德以得之，仁以人之，義以宜之，禮以體之，天也。合則渾，離則散，一人而兼統四體者，其身全乎！

The Way, virtue, benevolence, righteousness and ritual are like the human body, are they not? The Way is for guiding, virtue is for gaining, benevolence is for being human, righteousness is for being fitting, and ritual is for being proper; this is natural. Combined, they form one whole; separated, they fall apart. A person who can govern all four limbs together is whole in body, I suppose!

或問「德表」。曰：「莫知作，上作下。」「請問禮莫知。」曰：「行禮於彼，而民得於此，奚其知！」或曰：「孰若無禮而德？」曰：「禮，體也。人而無禮，焉以為德？」

Someone asked about the "mark of virtue." Yang Xiong said: "When it is done above, those below do not feel who is doing it." "May I ask, is ritual also not to be felt?" Yang Xiong said: "When ritual is performed over there, the people over here receive its benefit; what need is there to know who did it!" Someone said: "How can that compare with having only virtue and no ritual?" Yang Xiong said: "Ritual is the body. If a person has no ritual, with what can he form virtue?"

或問「天」。曰：「吾於天與，見無為之為矣！」或問：「彫刻眾形者匪天與？」曰：「以其不彫刻也。如物刻而彫之，焉得力而給諸？」

Someone asked about "Heaven." Yang Xiong said: "I am in Heaven, and I see action within non-action!" Someone asked: "Is it not Heaven that carves out the forms of the myriad things?" Yang Xiong said: "Precisely because it does not carve. If it carved and engraved thing by thing, where would it get enough strength to supply it all?"

老子之言道德，吾有取焉耳。及搥提仁義，絕滅禮學，吾無取焉耳。

When Laozi speaks of the Way and virtue, there is something I can take from him. But when he attacks benevolence and righteousness and wipes out the learning of ritual, there is nothing I can take.

吾焉開明哉？惟聖人為可以開明，它則苓。大哉，聖人言之至也！開之，廓然見四海；閉之，閛然不覩牆之裡。

How could I open up the light? Only a sage can open up the light; the rest are merely herbs. Great is the sage's word, reaching the utmost! Open it, and it is so broad that one sees the four seas; close it, and it is so dim that one cannot see inside the wall.

聖人之言，似於水火。或問「水火」。曰：「水，測之而益深，窮之而益遠；火，用之而彌明，宿之而彌壯。」

The sage's words are like water and like fire. Someone asked about "water and fire." Yang Xiong said: "Water: the more you measure it, the deeper it gets; the more you probe it, the farther it extends. Fire: the more you use it, the brighter it gets; the more you leave it, the fiercer it gets."

允治天下，不待禮文與五教，則吾以黃帝、堯、舜為疣贅。

If one could truly govern the world without relying on the texts of ritual and the five teachings, then I would regard the Yellow Emperor, Yao and Shun as superfluous growths.

或曰：「太上無法而治，法非所以為治也。」曰：「鴻荒之世，聖人惡之，是以法始乎伏犧而成乎堯。匪伏匪堯，禮義哨哨，聖人不取也。」

Someone said: "The highest is to govern without law, and law is not for governing." Yang Xiong said: "In the age of primeval chaos, the sages loathed it, so law began with Fuxi and was completed by Yao. If it were not Fuxi and not Yao, ritual and righteousness would be empty cries, and the sages would not adopt them."

或問：「八荒之禮，禮也，樂也，孰是？」曰：「殷之以中國。」或曰：「孰為中國？」曰：「五政之所加，七賦之所養，中於天地者為中國。過此而往者，人也哉？」

Someone asked: "The rituals of the remote lands of the eight directions, are they ritual, are they music, which is right?" Yang Xiong said: "Take the central states as the standard." Someone said: "What are the central states?" Yang Xiong said: "Where the five governing measures reach, where the seven levies can support life, and which lie in the middle of Heaven and Earth; those are the central states. Beyond these, going further out, can they still be counted as human?"

聖人之治天下也，礙諸以禮樂。無則禽，異則貉。吾見諸子之小禮樂也，不見聖人之小禮樂也。孰有書不由筆，言不由舌？吾見天常為帝王之筆、舌也。

The sage governs the world by bounding it with ritual and music. Without ritual and music, people are birds and beasts; those different from ritual and music are Yi and Mo barbarians. I have seen the various masters belittle ritual and music; I have not seen the sages belittle them. When has writing not passed through a brush, or speech not passed through a tongue? I look at that constancy of Heaven, and see it is the brush and tongue of emperors and kings.

智也者，知也。夫智用不用，益不益，則不贅虧矣。

Wisdom is knowing. When wisdom is applied to what should and should not be used, and to what should and should not be increased, there is no excess and no lack.

深知器械、舟車、宮室之為，則禮由已。

Understand deeply how tools, boats, carts and palaces are made, and ritual will also come out from oneself.

或問「大聲」。曰：「非雷非霆，隱隱耾耾，久而愈盈，屍諸聖。」

Someone asked about the "great sound." Yang Xiong said: "It is not thunder and not a thunderbolt, but a rumbling that grows fuller the longer it goes on; that sound is lodged in the sage."

或問：「道有因無因乎？」曰：「可則因，否則革。」

Someone asked: "Does the Way follow precedent, and does it not?" Yang Xiong said: "What can be followed, follow; what cannot, change."

或問「無為」。曰：「奚為哉？在昔虞、夏，襲堯之爵，行堯之道，法度彰，禮樂著，垂拱而視天下民之阜也，無為矣。紹桀之後，纂紂之餘，法度廢，禮樂虧，安坐而視天下民之死，無為乎？」

Someone asked about "non-action." Yang Xiong said: "What else is there to do? In the past Yu and Xia inherited Yao's rank and carried out Yao's principles; the laws were clear and ritual and music prominent; with robes hanging and hands folded they watched the people of the world grow prosperous; this is non-action. Succeeding Jie and following on Zhou's remnants, with laws in disuse and ritual and music diminished, to sit calmly and watch the people of the world die, is that still called non-action?"

或問：「太古塗民耳目，惟其見也聞也，見則難蔽，聞則難塞。」曰：「天之肇降生民，使其目見耳聞，是以視之禮，聽之樂。如視不禮，聽不樂，雖有民，焉得而塗諸？」

Someone asked: "In remote antiquity the ears and eyes of the people were stopped up, only because they could see and hear; once they could see, they were hard to deceive again, and once they could hear, they were hard to stop up again." Yang Xiong said: "When Heaven first sent down the people, it made their eyes able to see and their ears able to hear; so they are shown ritual and made to hear music. If what they see is not ritual and what they hear is not music, even with the people, how could they be stopped up?"

或問「新敝」。曰：「新則襲之，敝則益損之。」

Someone asked about "the new and the old and worn." Yang Xiong said: "What is new, follow it; what is old and worn, add to it or cut from it."

或問：「太古德懷不禮懷，嬰兒慕，駒犢從，焉以禮？」曰：「嬰、犢乎！嬰、犢母懷不父懷。母懷，愛也；父懷，敬也。獨母而不父，未若父母之懿也。」

Someone asked: "In remote antiquity people were cherished with virtue and not with ritual; the infant longs for its mother and the colt and calf follow the mother beast; what need is there for ritual?" Yang Xiong said: "Oh, the infant and the calf! The infant and the calf cherish the mother and not the father. What the mother cherishes is love, and what the father cherishes is respect. Having only the mother and not the father is not as good as having both parents."

狙詐之家曰：「狙詐之計，不戰而屈人兵，堯、舜也。」曰：「不戰而屈人兵，堯、舜也；沾項漸襟，堯、舜乎？衒玉而賈石者，其狙詐乎！」或問：「狙詐與亡孰愈？」曰：「亡愈。」或曰：「子將六師，則誰使？」曰：「御得其道，則天下狙詐鹹作使；御失其道，則天下狙詐鹹作敵。故有天下者，審其御而已矣。」或問：「威震諸侯，須於徵與狙詐之力也，如其亡？」曰：「威震諸侯、須於狙詐可也，未若威震諸侯而不須狙詐也。」或曰：「無狙詐，將何以徵乎？」曰：「縱不得不徵，不有《司馬法》乎？何必狙詐乎！」

A school that plays with trickery said: "With a trickery plan, one can make the enemy army yield without fighting; this is Yao and Shun." Yang Xiong said: "To make the enemy army yield without fighting is Yao and Shun; but if blood stains the neck and soaks the lapel, is that still Yao and Shun? One who sells stone as jade, that is trickery, is it not!" Someone asked: "Between trickery and none, which is better?" Yang Xiong said: "None is better." Someone said: "If you were in command of the six armies, whom would you use?" Yang Xiong said: "If one commands well, all the tricksters of the world are at one's service; if one commands badly, all the tricksters of the world become one's enemies. So one who holds the world need only examine how he commands." Someone asked: "To awe the feudal lords, one must rely on the power of conquest and trickery; what if one has neither?" Yang Xiong said: "To awe the feudal lords by relying on trickery is possible; it is better to awe them without relying on trickery." Someone said: "Without trickery, what will one rely on to conquer?" Yang Xiong said: "Even if one has no choice but to conquer, is there not the Sima's Art of War? Why use trickery!"

申、韓之術，不仁之至矣，若何牛羊之用人也？若牛羊用人，則狐狸、螻螾不膢臘也與？或曰：「刀不利，筆不銛，而獨加諸砥，不亦可乎？」曰：「人砥，則秦尚矣。」

The methods of Shen Buhai and Han Fei are unbenevolent in the extreme; how can one use people as one uses cattle and sheep? If people are used as cattle and sheep, would not foxes and mole crickets also have sacrificial meat to eat? Someone said: "If a knife is not sharp or a brush is not pointed, grind it alone on a whetstone; is that not also acceptable?" Yang Xiong said: "To use people as whetstones, the Qin dynasty can be said to have reached the summit."

或曰：「刑名非道邪？何自然也？」曰：「何必刑名？圍棊、擊劒、反目、眩形，亦皆自然也。由其大者作正道，由其小者作姦道。」

Someone said: "Is the learning of forms and names not the Way? How natural it is." Yang Xiong said: "Why forms and names? Weiqi, sword-play, rolling the eyes and tricks of shape are also quite natural. Taking the large path is the right way; taking the small path is the crooked way."

或曰：「申、韓之法非法與？」曰：「法者，謂唐、虞、成周之法也。如申、韓！如申、韓！」

Someone said: "Are the laws of Shen Buhai and Han Fei not also law?" Yang Xiong said: "What is called law means the law of Tang Yao, Yu Shun and the Zhou. As for Shen and Han! As for Shen and Han!"

莊周、申、韓不乖寡聖人而漸諸篇，則顏氏之子、閔氏之孫其如臺？

If Zhuang Zhou, Shen Buhai and Han Fei had not departed from the sages and gradually composed those essays, then what would become of the son of the Yan family and the grandson of the Min family?

或曰：「莊周有取乎？」曰：「少欲。」「鄒衍有取乎？」曰：「自持。至周罔君臣之義，衍無知於天地之間，雖鄰不覿也。」

Someone said: "Is there anything to take from Zhuang Zhou?" Yang Xiong said: "Few desires." "Is there anything to take from Zou Yan?" Yang Xiong said: "Self-possession. As for Zhuang Zhou, he ignores the principle of ruler and minister, and Zou Yan knows nothing of what lies between Heaven and Earth; even if they were my neighbors, I would not go to see them."