Renjian — The Human World人間訓

Clear and pure, calm and glad — this is the nature of a person. Bearing and standard, compass and square — these are the regulations of affairs. Know the nature of a person, and one's nurture of oneself does not go awry; know the regulations of affairs, and one's taking up and setting down is not confused. To send out one end and scatter it without limit, to go round the eight far corners and gather all into one pipe — this is called the mind. To see the root and know the branch, to watch where a thing points and see where it returns, to hold the one and answer the ten thousand, to grasp the essential and order the detailed — this is called art. To dwell and know what to do, to go and know where to go, in affairs to know what to hold to, in moving to know what to follow — this is called the Way. As for the Way, set it in front and it is not blocked; put it behind and it is not raised; bring it into the ordinary span and it is not cramped; spread it over all under heaven and it is not slack. Therefore what makes people call one lofty and worthy and praise one is the strength of the mind; what makes people set one low and slander one is the fault of the mind. Now words that come out of the mouth cannot be stopped in others, and conduct that starts nearby cannot be forbidden far away. Affairs are hard to complete and easy to ruin; a name is hard to set up and easy to throw down. A dike of a thousand li leaks through the hole of a mole cricket or an ant; a house a hundred fathoms high burns from the smoke in a crack of the chimney.

The warning of Yao says, "Tremble and shake, and be careful day by day, each single day. People do not stumble on a mountain; they stumble on an ant hill." Therefore people all make light of small harms and take small matters easily, and so they have much to regret. To worry about trouble only after it has come is like a sick man looking for a good doctor when he is already worn out: though there were the skill of Bian Que and Yu Fu, still he could not be kept alive. Now when disaster comes, people bring it forth themselves; when good fortune comes, people bring it about themselves. Disaster and fortune share one gate, and benefit and harm are neighbors; none but a divine sage can tell them apart. Whenever people take up an affair, there is none who does not first use his knowledge as a compass, weighing and measuring, and only then dare settle a plan. That it turns out sometimes to benefit and sometimes to harm is how the foolish and the wise differ. Those who understand what is so of itself and take it for wisdom, who know the pivot of surviving and perishing and the gate of disaster and fortune, and who take this up and use it, and still sink into trouble, cannot all be counted. If knowing that what one does is right meant that the affair could surely be carried out, then under heaven there would be no road one could not get through. Therefore knowing and weighing are the gate of disaster and fortune, and moving and staying still are the pivot of benefit and harm. The changes of the hundred affairs and the order and disorder of state and household wait upon them and only then take shape. Therefore the one who does not sink into trouble succeeds, and so one cannot but be careful.

Under heaven there are three dangers. Little virtue and much favor is the first danger. Low ability and a high place is the second danger. No great merit in one's person and yet a heavy salary received is the third danger. Therefore a thing may be diminished and so increased, or increased and so diminished. How do we know this is so? Long ago King Zhuang of Chu, having beaten Jin between the He and Yong, came back and would enfeoff Sun Shu'ao, who declined and would not accept. When he was sick with an ulcer and about to die, he said to his son, "I am dying. The king will surely enfeoff you. You must decline rich and fertile land and accept the place called Qinqiu, among the sand and stones. Its land is gravel and its name is ugly. The people of Chu believe in ghosts and the people of Yue in omens, and no one counts it worth having." When Sun Shu'ao died, the king did indeed enfeoff his son with rich and fertile land, and his son declined and would not accept it, and asked for the hill of Qin. By the custom of Chu, a minister of merit lost rank and salary in the second generation, and only the house of Sun Shu'ao alone remained. This is what is meant by diminishing a thing and so increasing it.

What is meant by increasing a thing and so diminishing it? Long ago Duke Li of Jin attacked Chu in the south, Qi in the east, Qin in the west and Yan in the north. His soldiers marched across all under heaven with nothing to hold them back, and his awe subdued the four quarters with nothing to bend him, and at last he gathered the lords at Jialing. His spirit was full and his will proud; he was excessive and extravagant beyond measure, and cruel to the myriad people. Within he had no minister to support and correct him; without he had no help from the lords. He killed his great ministers and drew near those who led him on and flattered him. The next year he went out to roam at the place of the Jiangli clan, and Luan Shu and Zhonghang Yan seized him and shut him up. Not one of the lords rescued him, not one of the hundred families grieved for him, and in three months he died. Now to win battles and take what one attacks, to have wide land and an honored name, is what all under heaven desire; yet it ended in his own death and the ruin of his state. This is what is meant by increasing a thing and so diminishing it.

Now Sun Shu'ao's asking for the hill of Qin, a land of sand and stone, is why it was not taken away for generations; Duke Li of Jin's gathering the lords at Jialing is why he died at the place of the Jiangli clan. The many all know to count benefit a benefit and trouble a trouble; only the sage knows that trouble may be a benefit and that benefit may be a trouble. Now a tree that bears fruit twice will surely have its root harmed, and a household that digs up hidden treasure will surely meet calamity. This says that great benefit turns instead into harm. Zhang Wu taught Zhi Bo to seize the lands of Han and Wei, and he was taken captive at Jinyang; Shen Shushi taught King Zhuang to enfeoff the descendants of the house of Chen, and he became hegemon over all under heaven. When Confucius read the Book of Changes and came to Decrease and Increase, he never failed to sigh with feeling and say, "Increase and decrease — surely these are the business of a king! An affair may be meant to benefit a man and be just enough to harm him; it may be meant to harm him and instead benefit him. The turning about of benefit and harm, and the gate of disaster and fortune, cannot but be examined."

Yang Hu made a rebellion in Lu. The ruler of Lu ordered men to shut the city gates and seize him, with a heavy reward for the one who took him and a heavy punishment for the one who let him go. They had ringed him three deep, and Yang Hu was about to raise his sword and cut open his own jaw. The gatekeeper stopped him and said, "All under heaven is wide, and they can search it without end. I will let you out." Then Yang Hu rushed at the ring and drove into it, lifting his sword and holding up his halberd as he ran. The gatekeeper let him out; then he looked back and laid hold of the very man who had let him out, and pushed at him with the halberd, tearing his sleeve and grazing his armpit. The man who had let him out resented it and said, "I did not oppose you on purpose; for your sake I braved death and took guilt upon myself, and now you turn and wound me. It is fitting that he should meet with this trouble!" When the ruler of Lu heard that Yang Hu had got away he was greatly angry, and asked by which gate he had gone out, and had the officers arrest them; and those who had been wounded received a great reward, while those who had not been wounded met with heavy punishment. This is what is meant by harming a man and instead benefiting him.

What is meant by wishing to benefit a man and instead harming him? King Gong of Chu fought the men of Jin at Yanling. When the fighting was at its height, King Gong was wounded and rested. The marshal Zifan was thirsty and asked for a drink, and the page Yanggu brought him wine and offered it. Zifan was a man who loved wine and found it sweet and could not keep it from his mouth, and so he grew drunk and lay down. King Gong wished to fight again and sent a man to call the marshal Zifan, who excused himself, saying that his heart pained him. The king had his carriage yoked and went to see him, and going into the tent he smelled the reek of wine. King Gong was greatly angry and said, "In today's battle I was wounded in my own person, and the one I relied on was the marshal, and now the marshal is like this. This is to ruin the altars of the state of Chu and not to lead my host. I have no one to fight beside me again!" At this he broke up the army and went away, and he beheaded the marshal Zifan and put him to shame. Now when the page Yanggu offered the wine he did not wish disaster upon Zifan; he truly loved him and wished to refresh him, and it was just enough to kill him. This is what is meant by wishing to benefit a man and instead harming him.

Now to force food upon a man sick with damp, and to give cold drink to a man struck by heat, is what the many take for nurture, but what a good doctor takes for sickness. What pleases the eye and pleases the heart is what the fool counts a benefit, but what one who has the Way keeps away from. Therefore the sage first goes against and later agrees, and the many first agree and later go against. To have merit is what a minister works for; to have guilt is what a minister keeps away from.

Why is it that a man with merit is sometimes suspected, and a man with guilt sometimes trusted the more? It is that the man with merit turns away from kindness and right, while the man with guilt does not dare lose a humane heart. When Yue Yang, the general of Wei, attacked Zhongshan, his son was held inside the city, and those in the city hung the son up to show him to Yue Yang. Yue Yang said, "By the duty between ruler and minister, I cannot make a private matter of my son." And he pressed the attack all the harder. Thereupon Zhongshan boiled his son and sent him a cauldron of the broth together with the head. Yue Yang stroked it and wept over it, saying, "This is my son." When he had done, he knelt for the messenger's sake and drank three cups. The messenger went back and reported, and the men of Zhongshan said, "This is a man who lies down under his bond and dies for his honor. He cannot be withstood." And at last they surrendered to him. He opened up much land for Marquis Wen of Wei, and had merit. From this time onward, day by day he was not trusted. This is what is meant by having merit and being suspected.

What is meant by having guilt and being trusted the more? Mengsun went hunting and got a fawn, and had Qin Xiba carry it home and boil it. The fawn's mother followed after it, crying. Qin Xiba could not bear it, and let it loose and gave it back. Mengsun came home and asked where the fawn was, and Qin Xiba answered, "Its mother followed after it crying, and I truly could not bear it, and secretly let it loose and gave it back." Mengsun was angry and drove Qin Xiba away. After a year he took him back and made him tutor to his son. Those about him said, "Qin Xiba was guilty toward you, my lord, and now you make him tutor to your son. Why is this?" Mengsun said, "He could not bear it even for a single fawn. How much less could he bear it toward a man!" This is having guilt and being trusted the more.

Therefore what one goes after and what one lets go cannot but be examined. This is why Gongsun Yang fell under punishment in Qin and could not get into Wei. It was not that his merit was not great; yet he stood with his feet drawn together and had nowhere to tread, and the reason was that he was not upright. An affair may take a thing from a man and instead give it to him, or give it to a man and instead take it from him.

Zhi Bo asked land of Xuanzi of Wei, and Xuanzi did not wish to give it. Ren Deng said, "Zhi Bo is so strong that his awe runs through all under heaven. If he asks land and it is not given, this is to be the first among the lords to take the disaster. It would be better to give it." Xuanzi said, "And if his asking for land does not stop, what then?" Ren Deng said, "Give it and make him glad, and he will surely ask land of the lords again, and the lords will surely prick up their ears. Join hearts with all under heaven and plan against him, and what is gained by that one heart will be more than what we have lost." Xuanzi of Wei cut off land and handed it over. Then Zhi Bo asked land of Kangzi of Han, and Kangzi of Han did not dare not to give it. All the lords were afraid. Then he asked land of Xiangzi of Zhao, and Xiangzi did not give it. At this Zhi Bo took Han and Wei along with him and ringed Xiangzi in at Jinyang. The three states made their plans together, took Zhi Bo captive, and divided his state in three. This is what is meant by taking from others and instead being taken from by others.

What is meant by giving to a man and instead taking from him? Duke Xian of Jin wished to borrow a road through Yu in order to attack Guo, and sent Yu the jade disc of Chuiji and the team of horses of Quchan. The duke of Yu was dazzled by the jade and the horses and wished to give him the road. Gong Zhiqi remonstrated, saying, "It cannot be done! Yu and Guo are like a cart that has wheels: the wheels lean on the cart, and the cart too leans on the wheels. Yu and Guo hold their standing by relying on each other. If you lend him the road, Guo will fall in the morning and Yu will follow it that evening." The duke of Yu would not listen, and at last lent him the road. Xun Xi attacked Guo and in the end overcame it. Coming back he turned on Yu and took that too. This is what is meant by giving to a man and instead taking from him.

When the sage kings spread virtue and bestowed kindness, it was not to ask a return of it from the hundred families; when they sacrificed at the suburb and gazed afar, and held the great offering and the autumn offering, it was not to ask good fortune of the ghosts and spirits. When a mountain reaches its height, clouds rise from it; when water reaches its depth, dragons are born in it; when a gentleman reaches his Way, blessing and emolument come home to him. Now one who has hidden virtue will surely have an open reward, and one who has hidden conduct will surely have a bright name. In old times the ditches and dikes were not kept up and the waters were a harm to the people, and Yu cut through Longmen and opened Yique and brought water and earth to order, so that the people could dwell on dry land. The people were not close to one another and the five kinds of conduct were not heeded, and Xie taught them the duty between ruler and minister, the closeness of father and son, the distinction of husband and wife, and the order of elder and younger. The fields were not kept up and the people's food was not enough, and Houji taught them to open ground and break the grass, to dung the earth and plant grain, so that the hundred families had enough in every house and every person had his fill. Therefore that none of the descendants of the three lords failed to reign as king was because they had hidden virtue. When the house of Zhou grew weak and rite and right were cast aside, Confucius taught and led the age with the Way of the three dynasties, and that his heirs have gone on unbroken to this day is because he had hidden conduct. Zhao Zheng, king of Qin, swallowed up all under heaven and perished; Zhi Bo seized land and was wiped out; Shang Yang was torn limb from limb; Li Si was pulled apart by carts; the three dynasties planted virtue and reigned as kings; Duke Huan of Qi carried on what had been cut off and became hegemon. Therefore he who plants broomcorn millet does not harvest foxtail millet, and he who plants resentment gets no return of virtue.

Long ago there was a man of Song who loved goodness, and for three generations they did not slacken in it. In his house, for no reason, a black ox bore a white calf, and he asked the master about it, and the master said, "This is a lucky sign. Offer it to the ghosts and spirits." After a year the father went blind for no reason, and the ox once again bore a white calf, and the father once again sent his son to ask the master. The son said, "Before, we listened to the master's word and you lost your sight. Now we are to ask him again. How can that be?" The father said, "The words of a sage go against at first and agree afterward. The matter is not yet played out. Go and ask him again, if only to try." The son asked the master once again, and the master said, "This is a lucky sign. Offer it to the ghosts and spirits again." He came home and passed on the word to his father, and his father said, "Do as the master says." After a year the son too went blind for no reason. After this Chu attacked Song and ringed in its city. At that time they exchanged their children and ate them, and split the bones for firewood; the strong men died, and the old and sick and the children all went up on the wall and held it fast and would not come down. The king of Chu was greatly angry, and when the city had been broken he had all who had guarded the walls put to the sword. These two alone, father and son, because they were blind, had not had to go up on the wall. When the army was disbanded and the siege lifted, father and son both saw again. Now the way disaster and fortune turn about and give birth to each other — that changing is hard to see.

Among the people living near the frontier there was one who was good at divining. His horse ran off for no reason and went into the land of the Hu, and everyone came to console him. The father said, "How do we know this will not suddenly turn out a blessing!" After some months the horse came back leading a fine Hu horse, and everyone came to congratulate him. The father said, "How do we know this cannot suddenly turn out a disaster!" The house was rich in good horses, and his son loved to ride, and he fell and broke his thigh, and everyone came to console him. The father said, "How do we know this will not suddenly turn out a blessing!" After a year the Hu came into the frontier in force, and the strong men drew their bowstrings and fought, and of the people living near the frontier nine in ten died. These two alone, because the son was lame, kept each other safe, father and son. Therefore blessing turning into disaster and disaster turning into blessing — the changing of it cannot be exhausted, and its depth cannot be measured.

There are words straight in themselves that do no good to the affair, and there are words that grate on the ear and go against the heart yet fit the fact. Gaoyang Tui was about to build a house and asked the carpenter. The carpenter answered, "It cannot be done yet. The timber is still green, and if plaster is laid on top of it the timber will surely bend. To load green stuff with heavy plaster — though it stand now, later it will surely give way." Gaoyang Tui said, "Not so. Timber grows stiffer as it dries, and plaster grows lighter as it dries. To load stiff stuff with light plaster — though it look bad now, later it will surely be good." The carpenter came to the end of his words and had nothing to answer, and took the order and built the house. When it was first finished it stood up handsomely and was good, and later it did indeed give way. This is what is meant by words that are straight and cannot be used.

What is meant by grating on the ear and going against the heart yet fitting the fact? Lord Jingguo was about to wall Xue, and many of his guests tried to stop him, and he would not listen. Lord Jingguo said to his usher, "Pass on no words for the guests." There was a man of Qi who asked for an audience and said, "I ask leave to speak three words and no more. If I pass three words, I ask to be boiled." Lord Jingguo heard this and saw him. The guest hurried forward, bowed twice and rose, and declared, "Sea. Big. Fish." Then he turned and ran. Lord Jingguo stopped him and said, "I should like to hear what you mean." The guest said, "I do not dare make sport with death." Lord Jingguo said, "You did not count the road far, sir, and came all this way. Say it out for me!" The guest said, "The big fish of the sea — a net cannot hold it and a hook cannot draw it. But let it be tossed about and lose the water, and mole crickets and ants all have their will of it. Now Qi is your pool, my lord. If you lose Qi, can Xue keep itself standing?" Lord Jingguo said, "Good." And he stopped and did not wall Xue. This is what is meant by grating on the ear and going against the heart yet getting at the fact of the affair.

Now to stop the walling of Xue by saying "do not wall Xue" is, as a way of getting one's persuasion through, not so good as "the big fish of the sea." Therefore a thing may be kept at a distance and be near, or be brought near and be far; and one may have his persuasion heeded and his reckoning found right and yet be set at a distance in his own person, while another may have his words unused and his reckoning not carried out and yet grow closer.

How is this made clear? Three states attacked Qi and ringed in Pinglu. Kuozi reported to Niuzi, saying, "The lands of the three states do not touch ours; they have crossed a neighboring state to ring in Pinglu, and there is not gain enough there to covet. Then what they seek from us is a name. I ask leave to send the lord of Qi to them." Niuzi thought this good. Kuozi went out and Wuhaizi came in, and Niuzi told Wuhaizi what Kuozi had said. Wuhaizi said, "This differs from what I have heard." Niuzi said, "The state is in danger and not at peace, the trouble is knotted and does not come loose. What then do we mean by prizing wisdom!" Wuhaizi said, "I have heard that there are those who cut off soil and land to bring peace to the altars of state, and I have heard of those who killed themselves and broke their houses to keep their state standing; but I have never heard of one who sent out his own ruler to serve as a border." Niuzi did not listen to Wuhaizi's words and used Kuozi's reckoning, and the soldiers of the three states withdrew and the land of Pinglu was kept. From this time onward Kuozi day by day was set at a distance, and Wuhaizi day by day came forward. So in planning against trouble the trouble came loose, and in scheming for the state the state was kept: Kuozi's wisdom hit its mark. Wuhaizi's thinking hit nothing in the plan, and his scheming was of no gain to the state; yet his heart was in tune with his ruler, and there was upright conduct in him. Now people must have a cap before they dress the head, and must have shoes before they walk the ground. Cap and shoes, for a person, cannot warm him when it is cold, cannot fend off the wind, cannot shade him from the blazing sun; yet that a cap is made a cap and shoes are made shoes is because of what a person entrusts himself to.

Now Jiufan fought and won at Chengpu, and Yongji had not an inch of merit; yet Yongji was rewarded first and Jiufan came after, because there was something precious in his words. Therefore what is upright is what all under heaven rewards. A hundred words that hit right a hundred times are not so good as choosing what to go after and watching how one acts. One may have no merit and be raised up first, and another have merit and be rewarded later. How is this made clear? Long ago Duke Wen of Jin was about to fight Chu at Chengpu, and asked Jiufan, "What is to be done?" Jiufan said, "In matters of humanity and right a gentleman never tires of loyalty and good faith; in matters of battle and array he never tires of deceit and falsehood. Let my lord simply deceive them." He took his leave of Jiufan and asked Yongji, and Yongji answered, "Burn the forest and hunt, and you will get the more beasts; but afterward there will surely be no beasts. Meet people with deceit and falsehood, and though you gain the more, afterward there is no second time. Let my lord simply be straight with them." At this he did not listen to Yongji's reckoning and used Jiufan's scheme, and fought the men of Chu and broke them utterly. Coming home he rewarded those who had merit, and put Yongji first and Jiufan after. Those about him said, "The battle of Chengpu was Jiufan's scheme. Why does my lord, in giving rewards, put Yongji first?" Duke Wen said, "Jiufan's words were the weighing of a single moment. Yongji's words are the gain of ten thousand ages. How could I put the weighing of a single moment first and the gain of ten thousand ages after!" Zhi Bo led the two states of Han and Wei to attack Zhao, ringed in Jinyang, and broke open the Jin River and flooded the city with it. Inside the walls they climbed the trees to dwell and hung up their cauldrons to cook. Xiangzi said to Zhang Mengtan, "The strength inside the city is already spent, the grain is running out, and the great officers are sick. What is to be done?" Zhang Mengtan said, "If what is perishing cannot be kept standing and what is in danger cannot be made safe, there is no reason to prize wise men. I ask leave to go out secretly and try, and see the rulers of Han and Wei and make a pact with them." So he saw the rulers of Han and Wei and urged them, saying, "I have heard it said that when the lips are gone the teeth are cold.

Now Zhi Bo leads the two of you to attack Zhao, and Zhao is about to fall. When Zhao has fallen, you yourselves are next. If you do not plan for it now, the disaster will reach the two of you." The two rulers said, "Zhi Bo is a man coarse within and with few he is close to. If we plan and it leaks out, the affair will surely fail. What is to be done?" Zhang Mengtan said, "The words go out of your mouths and into my ears. Who among people would know of it? Besides, those who share a feeling bring each other through, and those who share a gain will die for each other. Let my lords plan it!" The two rulers then plotted in secret with Zhang Mengtan and set a day with him. Zhang Mengtan then reported to Xiangzi. When the night of that day came, the house of Zhao killed the officers guarding the dike and broke the water open and poured it on Zhi Bo. Zhi Bo's army fell into confusion fighting the water, and Han and Wei struck at it from either wing, and Xiangzi led his foot soldiers against its front; and they broke Zhi Bo's army utterly, killed him, and divided his state in three. Xiangzi then rewarded those who had merit, and Gao He was first in reward. The host of ministers asked, "That Jinyang stands is the merit of Zhang Mengtan. Yet He is first in reward. Why is this?" Xiangzi said, "When Jinyang was ringed in, my state and house were in danger and the altars of state were near their end, and among the host of ministers there was not one without a proud and slighting heart; only He did not let go of the rite between ruler and minister. It is for this that I put him first."

Looked at in this way, what is upright is the great root of a person. Though one have the merit of winning battles and keeping the perishing alive, it is not so good as the height of upright conduct. Therefore the gentleman says, "Fine words can buy honor, and fine conduct can be added to others." One may be guilty and yet fit to be rewarded, and another have merit and yet fit to be punished. When Ximen Bao governed Ye, there was no grain stored in the granary, no money laid by in the office, no armor or weapons in the arsenal, and no accounts among the officials; and people spoke often of his faults to Marquis Wen. Marquis Wen went in person to that district, and it was indeed as people said. Marquis Wen said, "Zhai Huang gave you the governing of Ye, and there is great disorder. If you can explain it, well; if you cannot, I shall put you to death." Ximen Bao said, "I have heard that a ruler who is a king makes the people rich, a hegemon makes his arms rich, and a state that is perishing makes its arsenals rich. Now you wish, my lord, to be a king and hegemon, and so I have stored up among the people. If you think it is not so, I ask leave to go up on the wall and beat the drum, and armor and weapons and grain and rice can be had before you rise." So he went up on the wall and beat the drum. At the first drumbeat the people put on armor and notched their arrows and took up weapons and crossbows and came out. At the second drumbeat they came bearing grain on carts. Marquis Wen said, "Stop them!" Ximen Bao said, "Making a bond of faith with the people is not the piling up of a single day. Raise them once and cheat them, and afterward they cannot be used again. Yan has long been encroaching on eight cities of Wei. I ask leave to strike north and win back the land taken from us." And he raised the army and struck Yan, and came back only after winning back the land. This is one who was guilty and yet fit to be rewarded. Xie Bian governed the eastern march, and when he sent up his accounts the revenue was threefold, and the officers asked that he be rewarded. Marquis Wen said, "My soil and land have not grown wider, and my people have not grown more numerous. How is the revenue threefold?" He answered, "In winter I had timber cut and stacked, and in spring floated it down the He and sold it." Marquis Wen said, "In spring the people plow with all their strength, in the heat they weed with all their strength, and in autumn they gather in. In the space of winter they have nothing to do; and to cut the forest and stack it, to shoulder the yoke and float it down the He, is to use the people and give them no rest. The people are worn out by it; and though there be threefold revenue, what use shall I make of it?"

This is one who had merit and yet was fit to be punished. A worthy ruler does not take what comes cheaply, and a loyal minister does not gain an advantage cheaply. How is this made clear? Zhonghang Mubo attacked Gu and could not bring it down. Kui Wenlun said, "I, Wenlun, know the steward of Gu. I ask leave to take Gu without wearing out your officers and great officers." Mubo did not answer. Those about him said, "Without one halberd broken and one foot soldier wounded, Gu can be had. Why does my lord not send him?" Mubo said, "Wenlun is a man who flatters and is not humane. If I let Wenlun bring the place down, can I then not reward him? And if I reward him, this is to reward a flatterer. If a flatterer gets his will, this makes the soldiery of Jin let go of humaneness and run after flattery; and though I got Gu, what use should I make of it!" One who attacks a city wishes by it to widen his land. That he gets the land and does not take it is because he sees the root and knows the branch. Duke Mu of Qin sent Meng Ming to raise an army and fall upon Zheng, and it passed by Zhou going east. Xian Gao and Jian Ta, merchants of Zheng, plotted together and said, "The army has marched several thousand li and has cut across the lands of the lords again and again; the shape of it is that they will surely fall upon Zheng. Now whoever falls upon a state does it because he thinks it unprepared. If we now show them that we know how things stand, they will surely not dare go forward." So they forged the command of the earl of Zheng and brought twelve oxen to comfort the army. The three commanders plotted together and said, "Whoever falls upon others does it because he thinks they do not know.

Now they already know. Their guard and preparation will surely be firm, and if we go forward there will surely be no merit." So they turned the army about and went back. Xian Zhen of Jin raised an army and struck at them and broke them utterly at Xiao. The earl of Zheng then rewarded Xian Gao for the merit of keeping the state whole, and Xian Gao declined it, saying, "If a reward is got by a lie, then the good faith of the state of Zheng is cast aside. To run a state and have no good faith is to ruin its customs. To reward one man and ruin the customs of the state is what a humane man will not do. To get a heavy reward through bad faith is what an upright man will not do." And at last he took his household and moved to the Eastern Yi and never came back to the end of his life. Therefore the humane man does not harm life for what he desires, and the wise man does not harm what is upright for gain. The thought of a sage is long; the thought of a fool is short. A loyal minister works to raise up his ruler's virtue; a fawning minister works to widen his ruler's land. How is this made clear? Xia Zhengshu of Chen killed his ruler, and King Zhuang of Chu attacked him, and the men of Chen obeyed his command. King Zhuang, taking it that he had punished the guilty, sent foot soldiers to garrison Chen, and the great officers all offered congratulations. Shen Shushi had gone as envoy to Qi, and he came back and did not congratulate him. King Zhuang said, "Chen was without the Way, and I raised nine armies to punish it, put down the cruel and the disorderly and cut down the guilty man; and the host of ministers all congratulate me, and you alone do not. Why is this?" Shen Shushi said, "A man led his ox across another man's field, and the owner of the field killed the man and took his ox. There was guilt, to be sure, but the punishment too was heavy.

Now my lord, holding that Chen was without the Way, raised soldiers and attacked it, and thereby cut down the guilty man, and has sent men to garrison Chen. When the lords hear of it, they will hold that the king did not cut down a guilty man but coveted the state of Chen. I have heard that a gentleman does not cast aside what is upright to take a gain." The king said, "Good!" And he broke up the garrison of Chen and set up the descendant of the house of Chen. When the lords heard of it, they all came to court in Chu. This is one who worked to raise up his ruler's virtue. Zhang Wu made a plan for Zhi Bo, saying, "Among the six generals of Jin, Zhonghang Wenzi is the weakest, and above and below their hearts have parted. He may be attacked and the land widened." So he attacked Fan and Zhonghang and wiped them out; and then he taught Zhi Bo to ask land of Han, Wei and Zhao. Han and Wei cut off land and handed it over; the house of Zhao did not give it, and so he led Han and Wei to attack Zhao and ringed in Jinyang for three years. The three states plotted in secret with one reckoning and struck at the house of Zhi and in the end wiped it out. This is one who worked to widen his ruler's land. Now one who raises up his ruler's virtue makes him a hegemon; one who widens his ruler's land brings him to ruin. Therefore a state of a thousand chariots that practices civil virtue reigns as king, and Tang and Wu are this; a state of ten thousand chariots that loves to widen its land perishes, and Zhi Bo is this. Do not take on what is not your business; do not go after what is not your name; do not settle into a bright name that has come without cause; do not stay in wealth and honor that have come without merit.

Now one who goes after another's name is undone, one who takes on another's business fails, and one who gets great gain without merit will afterward come to harm by it. It is like climbing a high tree and gazing at the four quarters: pleasant though it be, when a fast wind comes there was never a time one was not afraid. To worry about trouble only after it has reached one's person is to chase it with six fine horses and not be able to catch it. Therefore when a loyal minister serves his ruler, he reckons his merit and receives reward and does not take what comes cheaply; he piles up effort and receives office and does not covet rank and salary. What he is able for, he receives and does not decline; what he is not able for, he does not rejoice at being given. To decline what one is able for is to hide oneself; to want what one is not able for is to be deluded. Decline what you are not able for and receive what you are able for, and you will be in no state of loss and falling away, and there will be no charge you cannot carry. Long ago Zhi Bo was proud: he attacked Fan and Zhonghang and overcame them, and then he threatened the rulers of Han and Wei and cut off their land. Still he thought it not enough, and at last he raised soldiers and attacked Zhao. Han and Wei turned on him; his army was beaten below Jinyang, he himself died east of Gaoliang, his head was made into a drinking cup, his state was divided in three, and he became the laughingstock of all under heaven. This is the disaster of not knowing when one has enough. Laozi says, "Know when you have enough and you are not disgraced; know when to stop and you are not in danger, and you may go on long." This is what he means. One may praise a man and it be just enough to ruin him, or slander a man and instead by that make him. How do we know this is so? Fei Wuji reported to King Ping of Chu, saying, "The reason Jin is hegemon is that it is near the Xia states; the reason Chu cannot contend with it is that Chu lies off to one side and far away. If the king of Chu wishes to have the lords follow him, it would be best to wall Chengfu on a great scale and have the crown prince Jian hold it, so as to draw in the north, while the king himself gathers in the south. This is to gain all under heaven." The king of Chu was pleased with this, and so ordered the crown prince Jian to hold Chengfu and ordered Wu Zishe to be his tutor. After a year, a man who went about with Wu Zishe said at the king's side that the crown prince was very humane and also brave, and could win the hearts of the people. The king told Fei Wuji of it, and Wuji said, "I have heard it all along. The crown prince within soothes the hundred families and without makes pacts with the lords, and Qi and Jin support him besides. He means to harm Chu, and the thing is already framed."

The king said, "He is my crown prince. What more does he seek?" He said, "He resents the king over the matter of the woman of Qin." At this the king killed the crown prince Jian and cut down Wu Zishe. This is what is meant by meeting with praise and having it turn to disaster. What is meant by slandering a man and instead benefiting him? Tangzi spoke ill of Chen Pianzi to King Wei of Qi, and King Wei wished to kill him, and Chen Pianzi fled with his household and ran to Xue. Lord Mengchang heard of it and sent men with a carriage to meet him. When he arrived, Lord Mengchang kept him with grain-fed meat and millet and dishes of the five flavors, brought three times a day. In winter he was clothed in fur and felt, in summer in fine hemp; when he went out he rode a stout carriage drawn by good horses. Lord Mengchang asked him, "You were born in Qi, sir, and grew up in Qi. What is it in Qi that you long for?" He answered, "I long for that Tangzi." Lord Mengchang said, "Tangzi — is he not the one who spoke ill of you?" He said, "He is." Lord Mengchang said, "Why do you long for him?" He answered, "When I lived in Qi it was coarse grain for rice and pigweed and bean leaves for broth, and in winter I froze and in summer the heat harmed me. Since Tangzi spoke ill of me I have taken myself to you, my lord, and I eat grain-fed meat and millet rice, wear what is light and warm, and ride what is stout and good. That is why I long for him." This is what is called slandering a man and instead benefiting him.

Therefore words of slander and praise cannot but be examined. One may covet life and instead die; one may make light of death and gain life; one may go slowly and instead be quick. How do we know this is so? There was a man of Lu who took revenge for his father in Qi: he cut open the man's belly and laid bare his heart, then sat down and straightened his cap, rose and changed his clothes, walked slowly out of the gate, got up into his carriage and let the horses walk, and his face did not change color. His driver wished to whip them on, and he laid a hand on him and stopped him, saying, "Today I have taken revenge for my father and brought out my death. It is not for the sake of living. Now the thing is done. Why should I run away!" Those who were pursuing him said, "This is a man of upright bearing. He must not be killed." And they lifted the ring about him and left. Had he put on his clothes with no time to belt them and his cap with no time to straighten it, and crawled off on his belly and run, and got into the carriage and galloped, he surely could not have saved himself within a thousand paces. But to sit down and straighten the cap, to rise and change clothes, to walk slowly out of the gate, to get up into the carriage and let the horses walk, and not to change color — this is what the many take for death, and it was instead the way he came to live. This is what is meant by going slowly yet galloping, and being late yet quick. Now running is what people take for quick, and walking is what people take for slow. Here instead what people take for slow became the quick, and this is because he was clear about the dividing of things. If there be one who knows that going slowly may be quick and being late may be fast, then he is close to the Way.

So when the Yellow Emperor lost his dark pearl he sent Li Zhu and Jie Duo to look for it and they could not find it, and then he sent Huhuang, and only then could it be got. The sage reveres the small and is careful of the slight; he moves without losing the moment; he shoots a hundred times and doubles his guard, and so disaster does not multiply. In reckoning good fortune he keeps short of it, and in weighing disaster he goes beyond it. On the day frost falls upon all alike, what has been covered is not harmed; and a fool who has made preparation matches the merit of a wise man. Now a torch in the midst of thin smoke can be put out by one finger; a leaking dike no bigger than a mouse hole can be stopped by one clod of earth. But when the fire has burned Mengzhu and the flames have caught Yuntai, when the water has broken through Jiujiang and soaked Jingzhou, then though one raise the host of three armies, they cannot save it. Now love piled up makes good fortune, and resentment piled up makes disaster. It is like an ulcer that must burst: what it fouls is much. Zhuyu Yang reported to Duke Jian, saying, "Chen Chengchang and Zai Yu, these two men, hate each other bitterly. I am afraid they will frame trouble and endanger the state. It would be best, my lord, to get rid of one of them." Duke Jian did not listen. Before long Chen Chengchang did indeed attack Zai Yu in the courtyard and killed him, and killed Duke Jian at court. This is not knowing what comes of revering the small. In Lu the Ji and the Hou set their cocks to fight, and the Hou sprinkled mustard on their cock and the Ji fitted theirs with metal spurs. The cock of the Ji did not win, and Ji Pingzi was angry and encroached on the Hou mansion and built upon it. Hou Zhaobo was angry and blackened them to Duke Zhao of Lu, saying, "At the prayers in the shrine of Duke Xiang there were only two dancers, and all the rest danced at the Ji's house. It is long now that the Ji have been without the Way and without those above them. If they are not cut down, the altars of state will surely be endangered." The duke told Zijia Ju of it, and Zijia Ju said, "The Ji have won the multitude, and the three houses have become one. Their virtue is thick and their awe is strong. How will you get at them, my lord!" Duke Zhao did not listen, and had Hou Zhaobo lead foot soldiers to attack them. The Zhongsun and the Shusun plotted together and said, "Without the Ji, our death and ruin are not a day off." And they raised soldiers and rescued them.

Hou Zhaobo did not win and died, and Duke Zhao of Lu fled to Qi. So the place from which the disaster grew began with a cockfight, and when it came to its full size it went as far as the ruin of the altars of state. So when the woman of Cai rocked the boat, the army of Qi fell upon Chu in force. Two men framed their resentment, Zai Yu was killed in the courtyard, Duke Jian met his death, he died with no heir after him, the house of Chen took his place, and in Qi there were no more Lü. Two houses set their cocks to fight, the Ji put on metal spurs, Lord Hou raised a revolt, and Duke Zhao of Lu ran away. So where an army has camped, thorns and brambles grow up. When disaster grows and is not put out early, it is like fire finding what is dry and water finding what is damp: it soaks in and grows greater. An ulcer breaks out on a finger, and the pain of it goes all through the body. So it is said that a worm's pecking splits beam and pillar, and gadflies set oxen and sheep running. This is what that means. People all work at making ready to save themselves from trouble, and not one of them knows how to keep trouble from growing at all. Now to keep trouble from growing is easier than to save oneself from trouble; and if no one can put his effort into that, then there is no talking of art with him. When Chong'er, the prince of Jin, passed through Cao, the ruler of Cao wished to see his joined ribs, and had him strip and catch fish. Xi Fuji tried to stop him, saying, "This prince is no ordinary man. The three who follow him are all helpers of a hegemon and a king. Meet him without rite and he will surely become a grief to the state." The ruler did not listen. Chong'er went back to his state, raised an army and attacked Cao, and in the end wiped it out. The ruler died at another's hand and the altars of state became a waste, and the disaster grew out of stripping and catching fish. Qi and Chu wished to rescue Cao and could not keep it standing. Had he listened to the words of Xi Fuji, there would have been no trouble of perishing.

Now if one does not work to keep trouble from growing, but tries to save himself once the trouble has grown, then though he have the wisdom of a sage he can plan nothing at all. The places from which trouble and disaster come are ten thousand ends with no one quarter. Therefore the sage dwells deep and keeps away from disgrace, and stays still and at ease and waits for his moment. The small man does not know the gate of disaster and fortune; he moves rashly and catches in the net, and though he prepare at every turn, what is there in it to keep his person whole! It is like starting a fire and then digging a pond, or putting on a fur coat and then using a fan. Besides, if a dike has ten thousand holes and you stop one of them, how will the fish suddenly have no way out? If a room has a hundred doors and you shut one of them, how will the thief suddenly have no way in? Now a wall falls down at a crack, and a sword breaks where it is surely notched; the sage sees these things while they are hidden, and so the ten thousand things cannot harm him. The grand steward Zizhu was attending at a meal with the prime minister Ziguo, and the prime minister Ziguo sipped the broth and it was hot, and he threw the drink in his cup and poured it out. The next day the grand steward Zizhu resigned his office and went home. His servant said, "To be grand steward of Chu is not easily come by. Why resign the office and leave it?" Zizhu said, "The prime minister is light in his conduct and careless of rite. It will not be hard for him to bring a man to shame." The next year he had the langyin laid down and beaten three hundred strokes. Now that a man in office withdrew first was because he saw the end and the beginning while they were still slight. Now while a swan is not yet hatched from the egg, one finger crushes it and it is scattered and has no form; but when its sinews and bones are made and its wings and pinions are finished, it rides over the floating clouds with the blue sky on its back, its breast brushing the red heights, soaring above the vast dimness and darting in fear among the rainbows, and then though there be stout crossbows and sharp arrows with fine cords and the skill of Puqiezi, still they can do nothing more to it. When the waters of the Jiang first come out of Mount Min, one can hitch up one's clothes and step across; but when they have come down to Dongting and raced past Shicheng and passed Dantu and raised up waves, boats and oars cannot get across in a single day.

Therefore the sage always works outside what has form, and does not let his thought linger and spend itself inside what is already done; and so trouble and disaster cannot harm him. Someone once asked Confucius, "What sort of man is Yan Hui?" He said, "A humane man. Qiu is not his equal." "What sort of man is Zigong?" He said, "A man of argument. Qiu is not his equal." "What sort of man is Zilu?" He said, "A brave man. Qiu is not his equal." The guest said, "All three are worthier than you, master, and yet they serve you. Why is this?" Confucius said, "Qiu can be humane and also hold back, can argue and also be slow of speech, can be brave and also be timid. To trade the ability of those three for the one Way of Qiu — Qiu would not do it." Confucius knew where to apply things. Niuque of Qin was passing through the mountains and met robbers, who took his carriage and horses, undid his bags and boxes, and dragged off his clothes and bedding. The robbers turned and looked back at him, and there was no color of fear in him and no worried purpose; he was glad, as one who has something of his own. So the robbers asked him, "We have taken your goods and threatened you with the knife, and your purpose does not stir. Why is this?" Niuque of Qin said, "Carriage and horses are the means of carrying the body, and clothes are the means of covering the form. A sage does not harm what he nurtures with the means of nurture." The robbers looked at each other and laughed and said, "One who does not harm life for what he desires and does not bind his form for gain is a sage of the age. If with this he goes and sees a king, he will surely make a business of us." And they went back and killed him. This was a man who could know by knowing but could not by knowing refrain from knowing; who could be brave in daring but could not be brave in not daring.

Now whoever has the Way meets the sudden without falling short, and meets hardship and can get free of it; and so all under heaven prize him. To know by what one acts for oneself and not yet to know by what one acts for others is not to have gone to the bottom of what one discusses. If a person can go by way of the bright and clear into the dark and dim, then he is close to the Way. The Odes say, "People have a saying too: none is wise who is not also foolish." This is what it means. An affair may be worked at, and that be just enough to ruin it; or be guarded against, and that be just enough to bring it on. How do we know this is so? The emperor of Qin held the prophetic chart, and saw it handed down in it, "What destroys Qin will be Hu." So he sent out five hundred thousand foot soldiers and had Lord Meng and Yang Wengzi lead them, and built the long wall, joining it in the west to the Flowing Sands, striking north to the Liao and binding it in the east to Joseon; and the inner commanderies of the middle land drew carts to feed them. Then he counted precious the rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory and kingfisher plumes and pearls of Yue, and so had the commandant Tu Sui send out five hundred thousand foot soldiers in five armies: one army blocked the ridge of Tancheng, one held the pass of Jiuyi, one was posted in the city of Panyu, one held the border of Nanye, and one was set on the waters of Yugan. For three years they did not loosen their armor or unstring their crossbows. The overseer Lu had no way to move the supplies, and so foot soldiers were again used to cut a canal and open the grain road; and they fought the men of Yue and killed Yixusong, the lord of Xi'ou. But the men of Yue all went into the thickets and lived among the birds and beasts, and not one of them would be a captive of Qin. They set up bold and outstanding men among themselves as commanders, and attacked the men of Qin by night and broke them utterly, and killed the commandant Tu Sui; the fallen bodies and the flowing blood were of some hundreds of thousands. So men were sent into banishment to garrison the frontier and guard against them. At that time men could not tend their fields and women could not scrape hemp and dress thread; the weak and the frail were held to labor along the roads; the great officers gathered in with baskets at the crossroads; the sick were not cared for and the dead were not buried. Then Chen Sheng rose up at Daze, threw up his arm and gave a great shout, and all under heaven was rolled up like a mat, and it reached as far as Xi. Liu Bang and Xiang Yu raised upright armies and followed, and settled matters as one snaps a dry stalk or shakes down what is falling; and so Qin lost all under heaven. The disaster lay in guarding against Hu and coveting Yue.

He knew to build the long wall to guard against ruin, and did not know that building the long wall was itself the cause of ruin; he knew to send men into banishment to garrison the frontier and guard against Yue, and did not know that the hardship would break out from within. Now the magpie knows beforehand that the year will have much wind, and leaves the high trees and nests on a drooping branch; but a grown man passing by gropes out its young, and a child passing by pokes at its eggs. It knows to guard against a far hardship and forgets the trouble close at hand. So Qin's preparation was the wisdom of the crow and the magpie. One may contend over what is good and instead make it stronger, or go along and agree and instead bring it to a stop. How do we know this is so? Duke Ai of Lu wished to enlarge his house westward, and the scribe contended with him and held that to enlarge a house westward was not lucky. Duke Ai set his face and grew angry, and though those about him remonstrated again and again he would not listen; and then he asked his tutor Zai Zhesui, "I wish to enlarge my house, and the scribe holds it is not lucky. What do you make of it?" Zai Zhesui said, "Under heaven there are three things that are not lucky, and enlarging a house westward is not among them." Duke Ai was greatly pleased and glad. After a while he asked again, "What are the three that are not lucky?" He answered, "Not to practice rite and right is the first thing that is not lucky. To have no stop to one's likings and desires is the second. Not to listen to strong remonstrance is the third." Duke Ai was silent and thought deeply, and turned back upon himself with feeling, and in the end did not enlarge his house westward. Now the scribe thought that by contending he could stop him, and did not know that one takes a thing instead by not contending. The wise man leaves the road and gets the Way; the fool holds to the way and loses the road.

Now Ni Yue was so skillful that of closed knots there was none he could not undo. It was not that he could undo every closed knot, but that what could not be undone he did not undo. One who has come to undoing a thing by not undoing it may be talked with about such matters. One may make rite and right clear and push forward the body of the Way, and it is not carried out; another may frame wild words and yet instead hit right. How is this made clear? Confucius was traveling about when his horse got loose and ate a farmer's crop, and the countryman was angry and took the horse and tied it up. Zigong went to talk him round, and though he humbled his words he could get nothing. Confucius said, "To talk to a man with what he cannot take in is like offering a great sacrificial beast to a wild animal, or giving the Jiu shao music to delight the flying birds. It is my fault, not that man's." So he sent the groom to go and talk him round. The groom came, and seeing the countryman said, "You plow from the Eastern Sea all the way to the Western Sea. My horse got loose. How could it help eating your shoots?" The countryman was greatly pleased and untied the horse and gave it back. Talking a man round in that way has no method to it, and yet it worked. Affairs reach a point where skill is not so good as clumsiness, and so the sage measures the socket and squares the tenon to it. Now when Cailing is sung and Yang'e struck up, a coarse man hearing them finds them not so good as Yanlu and Yangju; and it is not that the singer is clumsy, but that the hearer is other. So lines drawn across each other do not run through, and linked rings do not come apart; and where a thing does not go through, the sage does not contend with it. Humaneness is what the hundred families long for; rightness is what the multitude hold high. To do what people long for and practice what people hold high — this is how a stern father teaches his son and how a loyal minister serves his ruler. Yet in the world men have sometimes used these and their persons have died and their states have perished, and it is because they were out of keeping with their time.

Long ago King Yan of Xu loved to practice humaneness and right, and thirty-two states of the dry land came to his court. Wangsun Li said to King Zhuang of Chu, "If my king does not attack Xu, he will surely end by going to court in Xu himself." The king said, "King Yan is a ruler who has the Way. He loves to practice humaneness and right, and must not be attacked." Wangsun Li said, "I have heard that the great against the small and the strong against the weak are like a stone thrown at an egg or a tiger swallowing a piglet. What is there to doubt! Besides, to practice the civil arts and not be able to make one's virtue reach through, and to practice arms and not be able to put one's strength to use, is the greatest disorder there is." The king of Chu said, "Good!" And he raised soldiers and attacked Xu and in the end wiped it out. This was a man who knew humaneness and right and did not know the changes of the age. Fragrant shenshu and duzhi are what a beautiful person carries and wears; but steep them in slop water and their sweet smell cannot be kept. In old times the Five Emperors prized virtue, the Three Kings used right, and the Five Hegemons relied on strength. To take up now the Way of emperors and kings and apply it to an age of the Five Hegemons is like mounting a fine steed to chase a man through the thickets, or turning about in a straw cape and a rain hat. To plant grain when the frost is coming down and look for a harvest when the ice is breaking up — to want food from that is hard. Therefore when the Book of Changes says "The hidden dragon: do not act," it says that the time is not one in which to move. And so, "The gentleman is strong and untiring all day long, and in the evening is wary as though in danger; there is no blame." To be strong and untiring all day long is to move with the bright force; to be wary in the evening as though in danger is to rest with the dark force. To move with the day and rest with the night — only one who has the Way can do it.

Now King Yan of Xu practiced right and was wiped out; Zikuai of Yan practiced humaneness and perished; Duke Ai loved the Ru and was pared away; the ruler of Dai followed the Mo and was broken. To be wiped out, to perish, to be pared away, to be broken are what cruelty and disorder bring on; and that these four rulers alone perished by humaneness and right and the Ru and the Mo is because they met with an age whose business was other. It is not that humaneness and right and the Ru and the Mo do not work; but use them in an age that is not theirs, and one is taken captive by them. Now the halberd is the means of attacking a city, and the mirror is the means of showing the form. If a palace woman gets a halberd she cuts mallows with it; if a blind man gets a mirror he covers a cup with it: they do not know what it is to be applied to. So the good and the base are not the same, and slander and praise lie with the customs of the age; what one goes after and lets go are not the same, and going against and going along lie with the ruler. Kuang Jue would not take a salary and was put to death; Duangan Mu declined the office of minister and was made famous: what they did was the same, and that the gain and the harm differed is what the times made of it. Therefore though a sage have his purpose, if he does not meet with his age it is barely enough to hold his own person, and what merit or name can he bring about! Know what heaven does and know what people do, and then one has something to take charge of in the world. Know heaven and not people, and there is no keeping company with the customs of the age; know people and not heaven, and there is no roaming with the Way. Shan Bao turned his back on the age and left its customs, dwelt among the rocks and drank from the valley streams, did not wear silk or hemp and did not eat the five grains; he went on to seventy and still had the color of a child in his face, and then at last he met a starving tiger, which killed him and ate him. Zhang Yi loved deference: passing a palace hall or a shrine he always quickened his step, and seeing a crowd gathered at a village gate he always got down; even to grave keepers and grooms he gave the rites of an equal; yet he did not live out his years and died of a heat within. Bao nurtured his inside and a tiger ate his outside; Yi kept up his outside and sickness attacked his inside.

So if one makes his purpose straight and follows his feelings, what is hard and strong will harm him; and if he lets his person be worked by things, the dark and bright forces will eat him up. These are all men who carried a load of business and made sport with the tuning of it. The man of the Way who has got it changes without and does not change within. Changing without is how he enters into people; not changing within is how he keeps his person whole. So within he has a hold that is fixed and one, and without he can bend and stretch, swell and shrink, roll up and spread out, shifting along with things; and so he acts ten thousand times and does not fall in. The reason a sage is prized is that he can change like a dragon. Now one who holds stiffly to a single point of principle and pushes a single line of conduct, and will not change it even though he be broken to pieces and sunk away, is a man who is sharp about a small good and blocked off from the great Way. Zhao Xuanmeng brought a starving man back to life under a withered mulberry, and all under heaven called him humane; Ci Fei of Chu faced the danger in the middle of the river and did not let go of what he guarded, and all under heaven called him brave. Therefore see the small act and one can speak of the whole body of a man. Tian Zifang saw an old horse on the road and sighed and had a thought about it, and asked his driver, "What horse is this?" His driver said, "This was once kept in the duke's household. It is old and worn out and of no use, and is being taken out to be sold." Tian Zifang said, "To covet its strength when it is young and throw away its body when it is old is what a humane man will not do." And with a bundle of silk he bought it back. Worn-out soldiers heard of it and knew where their hearts should go. Duke Zhuang of Qi went out hunting, and an insect raised its legs and was about to strike at his wheel, and he asked his driver, "What insect is this?" He answered, "This is what they call a mantis. As an insect it knows how to go forward and does not know how to draw back; it does not weigh its strength and makes light of an enemy." Duke Zhuang said, "If this were a man, he would surely be the bravest fighter under heaven!" And he turned his carriage aside for it. Brave fighters heard of it and knew for whom to spend their deaths.

So Tian Zifang sheltered one old horse and the state of Wei carried him up, and Duke Zhuang of Qi turned aside for one mantis and brave fighters came home to him. Tang taught the man who was praying over his net, and forty states came to his court. King Wen buried the bones of a dead man, and the Nine Yi came home to him. King Wu put a man struck by heat in the shade of a tree and held him with his left arm and fanned him with his right, and all under heaven held his virtue close. King Goujian of Yue, deciding one case at law, punished a man who was not guilty; and he drew the sword Longyuan and cut his own thigh so that the blood ran down to his foot, punishing himself; and thereafter in battle his fighting men were sure to spend their deaths. Therefore when a sage practices a thing in the small, it can cover the great; when he examines a thing close at hand, it can hold the far away close. Sun Shu'ao opened the waters of Qisi and led them over the fields of Yulou, and King Zhuang knew that he could be prime minister. Zifa sorted out the swordplay and evened out the toil and the ease, and the state of Chu knew that he could be master of its soldiers. These all took shape in the small and slight and ran through to the great pattern. When the sage takes up an affair he adds no worry to it; he examines the reason of it, and that is all. Now let ten thousand men tune a bell, and it cannot be brought to the pitch pipe; get one who truly knows, and one man is enough. So it is with the arguments of those who urge a course. Truly get the number of the thing, and there is no use for a great many. Now the reason a cart can roll a thousand li is that the essential of it lies in a linchpin three inches long.

Now to urge a man and not be able to set him going, and to forbid a man and not be able to stop him, is because what one goes by is not the pattern of the thing. Long ago the ruler of Wei went to court in Wu, and the king of Wu imprisoned him and wished to set him adrift on the sea. The caps and carriage covers of those who came to plead were within sight of one another, and they could not stop it. The ruler of Lu heard of it, took down the frames of his bells and drums, and held court in plain white. Zhongni came in to see him and said, "Why does my lord have the color of grief?" The ruler of Lu said, "The lords have no kin, and take the lords for kin; the great officers have no party, and take the great officers for party. Now the ruler of Wei went to court before the king of Wu, and the king of Wu has imprisoned him and wishes to set him adrift on the sea. Who would have thought that the ruler of Wei, humane and upright as he is, would meet with this hardship! I wish to get him free and cannot. What is to be done?" Zhongni said, "If you wish to get him free, then I ask that Zigong be sent." The ruler of Lu called Zigong and handed him a general's seal, and Zigong declined it, saying, "Rank is of no help in undoing trouble. It lies in the road one goes by." And he drew himself in and went; and coming to Wu he saw the grand steward Bo Pi. The grand steward Bo Pi was much pleased with him and wished to put him forward to the king. Zigong said, "If you cannot carry your own persuasion through with the king, what should I be going by you for!" The grand steward Bo Pi said, "How do you know that Pi cannot?" Zigong said, "When the ruler of Wei was coming here, half of the state of Wei said it would be better to go to court in Jin, and the other half said it would be better to go to court in Wu. But the ruler of Wei held that in Wu he might have his bones sent home, and so he bound himself and took the command upon him.

Now you have received the ruler of Wei and imprisoned him, and wish besides to set him adrift on the sea. This is to reward those who said to go to court in Jin and to punish those who said to go to court in Wu. Besides, when the ruler of Wei came, the lords all took it for a sign of the yarrow and the tortoise. If now going to court in Wu turns out badly, they will all move their hearts to Jin. Your wish to bring about the work of a hegemon and king — is it not made hard by this!" The grand steward Bo Pi went in and reported it to the king. The king answered by sending out an order to the hundred officers, saying, "Within ten days, whoever has not made ready the rites due the ruler of Wei dies!" Zigong may be said to have known how to persuade. Duke Ai of Lu was building a hall and making it large, and Gongxuanzi remonstrated, saying, "If a hall is large, then with many people in it there is a din, and with few people in it there is gloom. I would have my lord make it fitting." The duke said, "I have heard what you say." And he did not stop building the hall. Gongxuanzi saw him again and said, "If the state is small and the hall is large, the hundred families will hear of it and will surely resent our ruler, and the lords will hear of it and will surely make light of our state." The ruler of Lu said, "I have heard what you say." And he did not stop building the hall. Gongxuanzi saw him again and said, "The zhao is on the left and the mu is on the right; and if you build a great hall that looks down upon the shrines of two former rulers, can that be without harm to you?" The duke then ordered the work broken off and the shuttering boards taken away and the thing left. The ruler of Lu's wish to build the hall was in earnest, and Gongxuanzi's wish to stop it was firm; yet of three persuasions only one was listened to, because the other two were not the right road for it.

Now to sit fishing by the river and not to get a single minnow by sundown is not because the fish of the rivers and streams do not feed, but because what was used to bait them was not what they wanted. But when a good hand takes the rod, he casts and the lips are hooked, because he can fish with what the fish want. Now there is nothing among things that cannot be dealt with; it is with people that there is what cannot be dealt with. Lead and cinnabar are of different kinds and different colors, and that lead can be made into cinnabar is because the number of it has been got. So many-worded and ornamented speech is of no help in persuading; one examines what the thing goes by, and that is all. The rubbing together of kinds of things — those that are close and yet come from different gates — are many and hard to tell apart. So a thing may look like another and not be it, and another may not look like it and be it; a thing may seem so and not be so, and another may not seem so and be so. The proverb says, "A kite dropped a rotten rat, and the house of Yu perished by it." What does it mean? It is said: the house of Yu were the great rich men of Liang. Their house was filled and abundant, their gold and coin past counting, their goods past pricing. They went up on a high tower that looked down on the great road, set out music and laid out wine, and played at dice up there. Wandering swordsmen came along together under the tower. One at the dice was casting for a set and got two that answered, and laughed; and just then a flying kite dropped its rotten rat, and it hit the wandering swordsmen. The wandering swordsmen said to one another, "The house of Yu have been rich and merry a long while, and they always have it in mind to make light of people. We have not dared to offend against them, and now they shame me with a rotten rat. If this is not paid back, there is no setting up our standing under heaven. I ask that you join your strength and be of one mind with me, and lead out all our followers, and be sure to wipe out that house." This is what is meant by looking like a thing and not being it. What is meant by not being of a kind and yet being so? Qu Jian told Shi Qi, "Bai Gong Sheng is about to make a revolt." Shi Qi said, "Not so. Bai Gong Sheng humbles himself and puts himself below men of learning, and does not dare be proud toward the worthy. In his house there is no trusting to lock and key, no fastness of bar and bolt. He gives out by the large peck and bushel and takes in by the light catty and ounce. To say such a thing of him is not fitting." Qu Jian said, "This is the very reason he will turn." After three years Bai Gong Sheng did indeed make a revolt and killed the prime minister Zijiao and the marshal Ziqi.

This is what is meant by not looking like a thing and being it. What is meant by seeming so and not being so? Zifa was magistrate of Shangcai, and among the people there was one guilty and due for punishment, and when the case was decided and the judgment settled and the sentence given before the prime minister, Zifa sighed and had a grieving heart. The guilty man, once punished, did not forget his kindness. After this Zifa was tangled in a charge before King Wei and fled the state. The man who had been punished came after his benefactor at last, and his benefactor hid in a hut below the city wall. When the pursuers came, the man stamped his foot and said angrily, "Zifa watched the deciding of my case, and I took the punishment, and my resentment cuts to the marrow of my bones. If I could get his flesh and eat it, would I ever know when I had had enough!" The pursuers took him at his word and did not search the place, and so in the end he kept Zifa alive. This is what is meant by seeming so and not being so. What is meant by not being so and seeming so? Long ago King Goujian of Yue put himself below King Fuchai of Wu and asked that he himself be a servant and his wife a handmaid; he served the sacrifices of the four seasons and sent in the tribute and service of spring and autumn; he handed over his altars of state and offered up the strength of his people; he lived hidden and kept himself covered, and in battle he took the front rank. His rites were most humble and his words most submissive, and his heart of parting and revolt seemed far off; and yet with three thousand armored foot soldiers he took Fuchai captive at Gusu. These four reckonings cannot but be examined. Now the reason affairs are hard to know is that a man hides his end and covers his tracks, sets up what is private in the midst of what is public, and leans what is crooked against what is straight, and with this overcomes and deludes the hearts of others. If what a person carries within could be made to fit what is seen without as the two halves of a tally fit together, then under heaven there would be no state that perished and no house that failed.

Now when a fox catches a pheasant, it must first lower its body and lay back its ears, and so wait for the bird to come. The pheasant sees this and trusts it, and so can be caught and taken. Let the fox glare with its eyes and stare straight ahead and show the set of a thing that must kill, and the pheasant too will know enough to start and shy away and fly far off, and so keep clear of its anger. Now the deceiving of one another by the falseness of people is not merely the trickery and reckoning of birds and beasts. The kinds of things resemble one another and seem to be so, and those that cannot be judged from without are many and hard to tell apart, and therefore one cannot but examine them.