Illustrating Laozi喻老

When the world has the Way, there are no urgent troubles, and it is called quiet, and the swift relays of the post stations go unused. Therefore it is said, "They turn back the galloping horses to haul dung." When the world is without the Way, striking and attacking do not rest, and the two sides hold out against each other for years without stopping, so that nits and lice breed in armor and helmet, and swallows and sparrows nest in the tents, and the soldiers do not come home. Therefore it is said, "War horses are foaled in the open country outside the walls."

A man of the Di (翟) offered the hides of a fat fox and a black leopard to Duke Wen of Jin. Duke Wen received the guest's hides and sighed and said, "These made guilt for themselves by the beauty of their hides." Now among those who govern a state, the one who made guilt by his name and title was King Yan of Xu, and those who made guilt by their walls and their land were Yu and Guo. Therefore it is said, "No guilt is greater than what may be desired."

Zhi Bo had swallowed the Fan and the Zhonghang, and still he did not stop attacking Zhao, and so Han and Wei turned against him. His army was broken at Jinyang, and he himself died east of Gaoliang. In the end his state was divided, and his head was lacquered and made into a vessel for urine. Therefore it is said, "No calamity is greater than not knowing what is enough."

The lord of Yu longed for the four horses of Qu and the jade disc of Chuiji, and he would not listen to Gong Zhiqi, and so his state perished and he himself died. Therefore it is said, "No fault cuts deeper than desiring to get."

A state that takes surviving for its constant may become a hegemon; a body that takes living for its constant may be rich and honored. If a man does not harm himself with what he desires, then the state does not perish and the body does not die. Therefore it is said, "To know what is enough is enough."

King Zhuang of Chu, having won his victory, hunted at Heyong, and on his return he rewarded Sun Shu'ao. Sun Shu'ao asked for the land between the waters of the Han, a place of sand and stones. By the law of Chu, the land given to a minister was taken back after two generations, and only that of Sun Shu'ao was left. The state did not take it back because the ground was barren, and so for nine generations the sacrifices were not cut off. Therefore it is said, "What is well planted is not pulled up, what is well held is not let slip, and sons and grandsons do not cease their sacrifices generation after generation." This speaks of Sun Shu'ao.

To have control in oneself is called weight; not to leave one's place is called stillness. What is weighty can employ what is light; what is still can employ what is restless. Therefore it is said, "The heavy is the root of the light, and the still is the lord of the restless." And it is also said, "The gentleman travels all day and does not leave his baggage cart." The state is the ruler's baggage cart. Zhufu handed his state on while he was still alive, and this was leaving his baggage cart. So although he had the pleasures of Dai and Yunzhong, in one stroke he had Zhao no longer. Zhufu was the lord of ten thousand chariots, and yet he held his own person lighter than the world. To be without power is called light; to leave one's place is called restless. For this he was shut up alive and died. Therefore it is said, "If he is light he loses his ministers; if he is restless he loses his lordship." This speaks of Zhufu.

Power and weight are the ruler's deep pool. One who rules over men, if he loses power and weight among his ministers, cannot get them back again. Duke Jian lost them to Tian Cheng, and the lord of Jin lost them to the six ministers, and their states perished and they themselves died. Therefore it is said, "A fish cannot leave the deep pool." Reward and punishment are the sharp instruments of a state. In the ruler's hands they control the ministers; in the ministers' hands they overcome the ruler. If the ruler shows his reward, the minister takes from it and makes it his own favor; if the ruler shows his punishment, the minister adds to it and makes it his own authority. When the ruler shows his reward, the minister uses that power; when the ruler shows his punishment, the minister rides on that authority. Therefore it is said, "The sharp instruments of a state must not be shown to men."

The king of Yue went into Wu to serve there, and he watched for Wu to attack Qi and wear itself out. The army of Wu had already beaten the men of Qi at Ailing, had spread its power over the Jiang and the Ji, and had made a show of strength at Huangchi, and so it could be brought to heel at the Five Lakes. Therefore it is said, "If you would draw a thing in, you must first stretch it out; if you would weaken a thing, you must first make it strong." Duke Xian of Jin, meaning to fall upon Yu, sent it a jade disc and horses; Zhi Bo, meaning to fall upon Chouyou, sent it a broad chariot. Therefore it is said, "If you would take a thing, you must first give it." To raise an affair where there is no shape and to win great merit in the world is what is called "the subtle light." To dwell in what is small and weak and to hold it weighty to lower and lessen oneself is what is called "the weak overcoming the strong."

Among things that have shape, the great always rises from the small; among things that last long, the many always rises from the few. Therefore it is said, "The hard affairs of the world surely begin in the easy, and the great affairs of the world surely begin in the fine." So one who would control a thing does it while the thing is fine, and therefore it is said, "Plan the hard while it is easy; do the great while it is fine." A dike a thousand fathoms long bursts through the hole of a mole cricket or an ant; a house a hundred feet high burns from the smoke in a chink of the chimney. Therefore it is said that when Bai Gui walked his dikes he stopped up the holes, and when the old man guarded against fire he plastered the chinks, and so Bai Gui had no trouble from water and the old man no worry from fire. These are all cases of being careful with the easy so as to avoid the hard, and of respecting the fine so as to keep the great far off. Bian Que saw Duke Huan of Cai. He stood a while and said, "My lord has a sickness in the skin. If it is not treated, I fear it will go deep." Marquis Huan said, "I have none." Bian Que went out. Marquis Huan said, "Physicians love to treat what is not sick and call it their merit." Ten days passed, and Bian Que saw him again and said, "My lord's sickness is in the flesh. If it is not treated, it will go deeper." Marquis Huan did not answer. Bian Que went out, and Marquis Huan was again displeased. Ten days passed, and Bian Que saw him again and said, "My lord's sickness is in the bowels and the stomach. If it is not treated, it will go deeper." Marquis Huan again did not answer. Bian Que went out, and Marquis Huan was again displeased. Ten days passed, and Bian Que looked at Marquis Huan and turned and fled, and Marquis Huan made a point of sending a man to ask him why. Bian Que said, "While the sickness is in the skin, a hot compress can reach it. In the flesh, needle and stone can reach it. In the bowels and the stomach, medicine boiled over fire can reach it. But in the marrow of the bones it belongs to the one who holds the span of a life, and nothing can be done. Now it is in the marrow, and that is why your servant asked for nothing." Five days passed, and Marquis Huan's body ached, and he sent men to look for Bian Que, but he had already fled to Qin. Marquis Huan then died. So when a good physician treats a sickness, he attacks it in the skin. These are all cases of fighting a thing while it is small. Now in the calamity and the blessing of affairs there is also a place like the skin, and so the sage sets to work early.

Long ago, when Chong'er, the prince of Jin, was in flight and passed through Zheng, the lord of Zheng did not treat him with courtesy. Shu Zhan remonstrated and said, "This is a worthy prince. If my lord treats him generously, you may lay up virtue." The lord of Zheng did not listen. Shu Zhan remonstrated again and said, "If you will not treat him generously, it were better to kill him, so that there be no trouble later." The lord of Zheng again did not listen. When the prince returned to the state of Jin, he raised an army and attacked Zheng, broke it utterly, and took eight of its walled towns. Duke Xian of Jin, with the jade disc of Chuiji, borrowed a road through Yu in order to attack Guo. The great officer Gong Zhiqi remonstrated and said, "It cannot be done. When the lips are gone the teeth are cold. That Yu and Guo rescue each other is not a matter of doing each other a kindness. Today Jin destroys Guo, and tomorrow Yu will surely perish after it." The lord of Yu did not listen. He took the jade disc and lent the road. When Jin had taken Guo, it turned back on the way home and destroyed Yu. These two ministers both fought the thing while it was in the skin, and the two lords did not use them. So Shu Zhan and Gong Zhiqi were the Bian Que of Yu and of Zheng, and the two lords did not listen, and therefore Zheng was broken and Yu perished. Therefore it is said, "While it is at rest it is easy to hold; while it shows no sign it is easy to plan for."

Long ago, when Zhou made chopsticks of ivory, Jizi was afraid. He thought that ivory chopsticks would surely not be set on earthenware, but would call for cups of rhinoceros horn and jade; that ivory chopsticks and jade cups would surely not hold a broth of beans and bean leaves, but the tail of the yak and the unborn young of the elephant and the leopard; and that one who ate the tail of the yak and the unborn young of the elephant and the leopard would surely not wear short hemp and eat under a thatched roof, but would have silk robes nine layers deep, wide halls and high terraces. "I fear how it ends, and so I am afraid of how it begins." Five years passed, and Zhou made a garden of meat, set up the roasting pillar, climbed the hill of lees and looked down on the pool of wine, and by this Zhou perished in the end. So Jizi saw the ivory chopsticks and knew the calamity of the world. Therefore it is said, "To see the small is called clear sight."

Goujian went into Wu to serve there, and with his own hands he took up shield and spear and walked before the horse of the king of Wu, and so he was able to kill Fuchai at Gusu. King Wen was reviled at the Wang gate and the color of his face did not change, and so King Wu took Zhou captive at Muye. Therefore it is said, "To keep to the soft is called strength." The king of Yue became a hegemon because he did not take his servitude for an affliction, and King Wu became king because he did not take the reviling for an affliction. Therefore it is said, "The sage is not sick because he does not take it for a sickness, and so he has no sickness."

A countryman of Song got a piece of uncut jade and offered it to Zi Han, and Zi Han would not take it. The countryman said, "This is a treasure. It ought to be made into a vessel for a gentleman; it is not for a small man to use." Zi Han said, "You take the jade for a treasure. I take not accepting your jade for a treasure." Here the countryman wanted the jade and Zi Han did not want the jade. Therefore it is said, "He desires not to desire, and does not prize goods that are hard to come by."

Wang Shou was walking along with books on his back when he met Xu Feng on the road in Zhou. Feng said, "Affairs are doing. Doing is born of the time, and one who knows has no constant affairs. Books are words. Words are born of knowing, and one who knows does not hoard books. Why then do you alone carry these on your back as you go?" At this Wang Shou burned his books and danced. So one who knows does not teach with talk, and one who is wise does not hoard books in a chest. This is what the age has passed by, and Wang Shou went back to it. This is learning not to learn. Therefore it is said, "He learns not to learn, and goes back to what the multitude have passed by."

Now things have their constant form, and one takes hold of it and leads them by it. Because he follows the form of the thing, in stillness he stands firm in virtue and in motion he follows the Way. There was a man of Song who made a paper mulberry leaf of ivory for his lord, and in three years it was done. The thick and thin of stalk and twig, the fine down and the sheen, were such that when it was mixed among paper mulberry leaves it could not be told apart. This man was given a salary in the state of Song for that merit. Liezi heard of it and said, "If heaven and earth took three years to make one leaf, then few things would have leaves." So to load everything on one man's body and not ride on the resources of heaven and earth, or to learn one man's wisdom and not follow the measure of the Way and its order, is in every case the conduct of a single leaf. Therefore Houji himself could not make a crop plentiful that was plowed in winter, and a bondsman could not spoil the great grain of a good year. If it goes by one man's strength, then even Houji falls short; if it follows what is so of itself, then even a bondsman has more than enough. Therefore it is said, "He leans on what the ten thousand things are of themselves and does not dare to act."

The empty openings are the doors and windows of the spirit's light. When ear and eye are used up on sound and color, and the spirit is used up on outward appearance, there is no master within. When there is no master within, then though calamity and blessing be like hills and mountains, there is no way to know them. Therefore it is said, "Without going out of the door one can know the world; without peering through the window one can know the Way of heaven." This says that the spirit's light does not leave what is real in it.

King Xiang of Zhao learned driving from Prince Yuqi, and soon after he raced against Yuqi. He changed horses three times and three times fell behind. King Xiang said, "You taught me driving, but you did not give me the whole of the art." He answered, "The art was given whole, but my lord's use of it goes too far. In driving, what is prized is this: the horse's body is at ease in the chariot and the man's heart is in tune with the horse, and only then can one go fast and reach far. Now when my lord is behind he wants to catch your servant, and when he is ahead he fears being caught by your servant. To lead the course and contend over distance is to be either ahead or behind, and yet ahead or behind your heart is wholly on your servant. With what, then, will you be in tune with the horse? This is why my lord fell behind." Bai Gong Sheng was plotting a revolt. When the audience was over, he leaned on his staff upside down, and the sharp point pierced his jaw, and the blood ran down to the ground, and he did not know it. A man of Zheng heard of it and said, "He forgot his jaw. What will he not forget?" Therefore it is said, "The further one goes out, the less one knows." This says that when wisdom goes all around what is far, what it leaves behind is near at hand. For this reason the sage has no constant going. He can bring all knowing together, and so it is said, "He knows without traveling." He can bring all seeing together, and so it is said, "He is clear without looking." He takes up affairs according to the time and sets up merit according to the resources at hand; he uses the powers of the ten thousand things and gains the benefit of them from above. Therefore it is said, "He completes without doing."

King Zhuang of Chu had been at the head of the government for three years, and he sent out no orders and did nothing in the way of government. The Right Marshal, sitting in attendance, put a riddle to the king and said, "There is a bird that has settled on a hill in the south. For three years it does not beat its wings; it does not fly and does not cry, but keeps still without a sound. What is this bird called?" The king said, "That for three years it does not beat its wings is to grow its feathers and wings. That it does not fly and does not cry is to watch the rule of the people. Though it has not flown, when it flies it will surely rise to heaven. Though it has not cried, when it cries it will surely startle men. Let it be. I know it." Half a year passed, and then he heard the government himself. He did away with ten things and raised up nine; he put five great ministers to death and raised six scholars who lived in retirement, and the state was greatly ordered. He raised an army and punished Qi, breaking it at Xuzhou; he defeated Jin at Heyong and gathered the feudal lords at Song, and so he became hegemon over the world. King Zhuang did not do small goods, and so he had a great name; he did not show himself early, and so he had great merit. Therefore it is said, "A great vessel is late in the making; a great sound is faint in its voice."

King Zhuang of Chu wished to attack Yue, and Duzi remonstrated and said, "Why does my king attack Yue?" He said, "Their government is in disorder and their army is weak." Duzi said, "Your servant is foolish, and yet this worries him. Wisdom is like the eye. It can see beyond a hundred paces, but it cannot see its own lashes. My king's army was beaten by Qin and by Jin through its own fault and lost several hundred li of land: this is the weakness of the army. Zhuang Qiao robs within the borders and the officers cannot stop him: this is the disorder of the government. My king's weakness and disorder are not beneath those of Yue, and yet you wish to attack Yue. This is wisdom being like the eye." The king then stopped. So the difficulty of knowing does not lie in seeing others; it lies in seeing oneself. Therefore it is said, "To see oneself is called clear sight."

Zixia saw Zengzi. Zengzi said, "How is it that you have grown stout?" He answered, "I won the battle, and so I have grown stout." Zengzi said, "What do you mean?" Zixia said, "When I came in and saw the rightness of the former kings, I held it glorious. When I went out and saw the pleasures of wealth and rank, I held that glorious too. The two fought in my breast, and I did not know which would win, and so I grew thin. Now the rightness of the former kings has won, and so I have grown stout." For this reason the difficulty of the will does not lie in overcoming others; it lies in overcoming oneself. Therefore it is said, "To overcome oneself is called strength."

The state of Zhou had a jade tablet, and Zhou sent Jiao Ge to ask for it, and King Wen would not give it. When Fei Zhong came and sought it, he gave it to him. This was because Jiao Ge was worthy and Fei Zhong was without the Way. The state of Zhou hated to see a worthy man get his will, and so it gave the tablet to Fei Zhong. That King Wen raised up Taigong on the bank of the Wei was holding him in honor; that he supplied Fei Zhong with the jade tablet was showing him love. Therefore it is said, "He does not honor his teacher and does not love his resource. Though he knows, he is greatly astray. This is called the essential and the subtle."