Discoursing on Swords莊子 雜篇 說劍

In old times King Wen of Zhao loved swords. Swordsmen crowded his gate and stayed as his guests, more than three thousand of them. Day and night they struck at one another before him, and more than a hundred a year were killed or wounded, and still he never tired of it. When it had gone on like this for three years, the state declined and the feudal lords began to scheme against it.

Crown Prince Kui was troubled by it and put the question to those about him. "Who can talk the king round and put a stop to the swordsmen? I will give him a thousand pieces of gold." Those about him said, "Zhuangzi could surely do it."

The crown prince then sent a man to present a thousand pieces of gold to Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi would not take it. He went along with the messenger, and he saw the crown prince and said, "What do you mean to teach me, sir, that you give me a thousand pieces of gold?"

The crown prince said, "I had heard that you were wise and holy, and I respectfully offered a thousand pieces of gold as a gift for your attendants. You will not take it, sir, so what would I dare to say?"

Zhuangzi said, "I hear that what you would use me for is to cut off what the king delights in.

If I talk to the great king above and cross the king's will, and below I do not suit the crown prince, then I shall be punished and die. What use would the gold be to me then? But if I talk the great king round above and suit the crown prince below, then what could I ask for in the state of Zhao and not be given?"

The crown prince said, "That is so. The only men our king sees are swordsmen."

Zhuangzi said, "Good. I am good with a sword."

The crown prince said, "But the swordsmen our king sees all have tangled hair with the side locks jutting out and their caps hanging low. They wear coarse chin straps and coats cut short behind, and they glare and speak haltingly, and the king delights in them. If you insist on seeing the king in a scholar's robes, sir, the thing is bound to go badly wrong."

Zhuangzi said, "Let me have a swordsman's clothes made."

He spent three days having the swordsman's clothes made, and then he saw the crown prince, and the crown prince took him in to see the king. The king had a bare blade drawn and waiting for him.

Zhuangzi came in at the palace gate without hurrying his steps, and he saw the king and did not bow. The king said, "What is it you would teach me, that you put the crown prince before you?"

He said, "I heard that the great king loved swords, so I have come to see the king with a sword."

The king said, "What can your sword hold off?"

He said, "My sword cuts down one man every ten paces, and it goes a thousand li without halting its step."

The king was greatly pleased with him and said, "There is no match for you in the world."

Zhuangzi said, "The man who uses a sword shows an opening and offers an advantage. He strikes last and arrives first. I would like to try it once."

The king said, "Rest at your lodging, sir, and wait for my word. I will arrange the match and send for you."

The king then had the swordsmen matched for seven days, and more than sixty were killed or wounded. He picked out five or six, had them hold their swords ready below the hall, and then sent for Zhuangzi. The king said, "Today I will have these men try their swords."

Zhuangzi said, "I have waited long for it."

The king said, "How long or short is the sword you will use, sir?"

He said, "Whatever I am given will do. But I have three swords, and I use only the one the king would have me use. Let me speak of them first and try them after."

The king said, "I wish to hear of the three swords."

He said, "There is the sword of the Son of Heaven, there is the sword of the feudal lord, and there is the sword of the common man."

The king said, "What is the sword of the Son of Heaven?"

He said, "The sword of the Son of Heaven takes Yanxi and Shicheng for its point, Qi and Mount Dai for its blade, Jin and Wey (衞) for its ridge, Zhou and Song for its guard, Han and Wei (魏) for its hilt.

It is wrapped in the barbarians of the four quarters and bound about with the four seasons. It is ringed by the Bohai Sea and belted with Mount Chang. It is ordered by the five elements and weighed by punishment and virtue. It is opened by yin and yang, held by spring and summer, wielded by autumn and winter.

Thrust this sword straight out and there is nothing before it. Lift it and there is nothing above it. Press it down and there is nothing below it. Swing it and there is nothing beside it. Above, it cleaves the drifting clouds. Below, it cuts the cords of the earth.

Use this sword once and the feudal lords are set straight and the world submits. This is the sword of the Son of Heaven."

King Wen was blank and lost to himself, and he said, "What is the sword of the feudal lord?"

He said, "The sword of the feudal lord takes men of knowledge and daring for its point, men of purity and honesty for its blade, men of worth and goodness for its ridge, men of loyalty and holiness for its guard, men of surpassing gifts for its hilt.

Thrust this sword straight out too and there is nothing before it. Lift it and there is nothing above it. Press it down and there is nothing below it. Swing it and there is nothing beside it. Above, it takes the round heaven for its model and follows the sun and the moon and the stars. Below, it takes the square earth for its model and follows the four seasons. In the middle it brings the will of the people into accord and settles the villages of the four quarters.

Use this sword once and it is like the shock of thunder and lightning. Within the four borders there is no one who does not submit and obey the ruler's command. This is the sword of the feudal lord."

The king said, "What is the sword of the common man?"

He said, "The sword of the common man has tangled hair with the side locks jutting out and the cap hanging low, a coarse chin strap and a coat cut short behind, and it glares and speaks haltingly. Such men strike at one another in front of you. Above, they cut through the neck. Below, they split the liver and the lungs.

This sword of the common man is no different from a cockfight. In a single morning a life is cut off, and it is of no use in the affairs of the state. Now the great king sits in the place of the Son of Heaven and loves the sword of the common man. I privately think it a poor thing for the great king."

The king then drew him up into the hall. The cook brought food, and the king walked three times round his place. Zhuangzi said, "Be seated, great king, and settle your breath. The business of the swords has all been laid before you."

After this King Wen did not leave the palace for three months, and the swordsmen all took their own lives where they stood.