Feixiang — Against Physiognomy非相篇
相人，古之人無有也，學者不道也。古者有姑布子卿，今之世，梁有唐舉，相人之形狀顏色而知其吉凶妖祥，世俗稱之。古之人無有也，學者不道也。故相形不如論心，論心不如擇術。形不勝心，心不勝術。術正而心順之，則形相雖惡而心術善，無害爲君子也；形相雖善而心術惡，無害爲小人也。君子之謂吉，小人之謂凶。故長短、小大、善惡、形相，非吉凶也。古之人無有也，學者不道也。葢帝堯長，帝舜短，文王長，周公短，仲尼長，子弓短。昔者衞靈公有臣曰公孫呂，身長七尺，面長三尺，焉廣三寸，鼻目耳具，而名動天下。楚之孫叔敖，期思之鄙人也，突禿長左，軒較之下，而以楚霸。葉公子高，微小短瘠，行若將不勝其衣。然白公之亂也，令尹子西、司馬子期皆死焉；葉公子高入據楚，誅白公，定楚國，如反手爾，仁義功名善於後世。故事不揣長，不揳大，不權輕重，亦將志乎爾。長短、大小、美惡形相，豈論也哉！且徐偃王之狀，目可瞻馬；仲尼之狀，面如蒙倛；周公之狀，身如斷菑；皋陶之狀，色如削瓜；閎夭之狀，面無見膚；傅說之狀，身如植鰭；伊尹之狀，面無須麋；禹跳，湯偏，堯、舜參牟子。從者將論志意，比類文學邪？直將差長短，辨美惡，而相欺傲邪？古者桀、紂長巨姣美，天下之傑也，筋力越勁，百人之敵也。然而身死國亡，爲天下大僇，後世言惡則必稽焉。是非容貌之患也，聞見之不衆，議論之卑爾。今世俗之亂君，鄉曲之儇子，莫不美麗姚冶，奇衣婦飾，血氣態度擬於女子；婦人莫不願得以爲夫，處女莫不願得以爲士，弃其親家而欲奔之者，比肩竝起。然而中君羞以爲臣，中父羞以爲子，中兄羞以爲弟，中人羞以爲友，俄則束乎有司而戮乎大市，莫不呼天啼哭，苦傷其今而後悔其始。是非容貌之患也，聞見之不衆，議論之卑爾。然則從者將孰可也？
To read men's looks is a thing the men of old did not have, and learners do not speak of it. Of old there was Gubu Ziqing (姑布子卿), and in the present age there is Tang Ju (唐擧) of Liang (梁), who look at a man's shape and color and say they know his good and ill fortune, his ill omens and his blessings, and common custom makes much of them. The men of old did not have this, and learners do not speak of it.
So to read the shape is not as good as to weigh the heart, and to weigh the heart is not as good as to choose the art. The shape does not overcome the heart, and the heart does not overcome the art. If the art is correct and the heart follows it, then though shape and look be foul, heart and art are good, and there is no harm in his being a gentleman. Though shape and look be fine, if heart and art are cruel, there is no harm in his being a small man. The gentleman is called fortunate and the small man is called ill-fated.
So long and short, small and great, fine and foul, shape and look are not good and ill fortune. The men of old did not have this, and learners do not speak of it.
In general King Yao was tall and King Shun was short, King Wen was tall and the Duke of Zhou was short, Zhongni was tall and Zi Gong (子弓) was short.
Of old Duke Ling of Wey had a minister called Gongsun Lü (公孫呂), seven feet tall, with a face three feet long and a brow three inches wide, and nose and eyes and ears all there, and his name moved all under heaven.
Sun Shu'ao of Chu was a countryman of Qisi (期思), bald, long on the left, and small enough to go under the crossbar of a carriage, and yet he made Chu the foremost state.
Lord She Zigao (葉公子高) was small and gaunt, and when he walked it seemed he could not bear even his clothes. Yet in the disorder of Lord Bai (白公) the prime minister Zixi and the minister of war Ziqi both died, while Lord She Zigao went in and took hold of Chu, put Lord Bai to death, and settled the state of Chu as easily as turning his hand over, and his benevolence and rightness, his merit and his name, were good in the ages after.
So in a matter one does not measure its length, does not gauge its size, does not weigh its lightness or heaviness, but looks only to the purpose. How should long and short, great and small, fair and foul of shape and look be discussed?
Again, King Yan of Xu (徐偃王) was of a shape whose eyes could look up at a horse. Zhongni was of a shape whose face was as though masked. The Duke of Zhou was of a shape whose body was like a cut and withered tree. Gao Yao (皋陶) was of a shape whose color was like a pared melon. Hong Yao (閎夭) was of a shape whose face showed no skin. Fu Yue (傅說) was of a shape whose body was as though a fin stood up on it. Yi Yin was of a shape whose face had neither beard nor brow. King Yu limped, King Tang was bent on one side, and King Yao and King Shun had double pupils.
Would those who follow this weigh men's purposes and set their learning side by side? Or would they merely sort long from short and reckon fair from foul, and so cheat and lord it over one another?
Of old Jie and King Zhou (紂) were tall and handsome, the finest of all under heaven, and their sinews and strength were outstanding, a match for a hundred men. And yet their bodies died and their states perished, and they became the great laughingstock of all under heaven, and in the ages after, when men speak of cruelty, they must cite them. This was not the trouble of their faces. It was that their hearing and seeing were not wide and their discussion was low.
Now the disorderly lords of common custom and the sharp lads of the country villages are all fair and comely, in strange clothes and women's adornments, and their blood and breath and bearing are like a woman's. There is no woman who does not wish to take such a one for a husband and no unwed girl who does not wish to have him for her own, and those who would leave their own homes and run to him rise up shoulder to shoulder. And yet a middling lord is ashamed to have him for a minister, a middling father is ashamed to have him for a son, a middling elder brother is ashamed to have him for a younger brother, and a middling man is ashamed to have him for a friend. Soon he is bound by the officers and put to death in the great market, and there is none of them who does not call on heaven and weep aloud, grieving over his present and repenting of his beginning. This was not the trouble of his face. It was that his hearing and seeing were not wide and his discussion was low.
Which side, then, will those who follow this hold to be right?
人有三不祥：幼而不肯事長，賤而不肯事貴，不肖而不肯事賢，是人之三不祥也。人有三必窮：爲上則不能愛下，爲下則好非其上，是人之一必窮也。鄉則不若，偝則謾之，是人之二必窮也。知行淺薄，曲直有以相縣矣，然而仁人不能推，知士不能明，是人之三必窮也。人有此三數行者，以爲上則必危，爲下則必滅。《詩》曰：「雨雪瀌瀌，宴然聿消。莫肯下隧，式居屢驕。」此之謂也。人之所以爲人者，何已也？曰：以其有辨也。飢而欲食，寒而欲煖，勞而欲息，好利而惡害，是人之所生而有也，是無待而然者也，是禹、桀之所同也。然則人之所以爲人者，非特以二足而無毛也，以其有辨也。今夫狌狌形笑，亦二足而無毛也，然而君子啜其羹，食其胾。故人之所以爲人者，非特以其二足而無毛也，以其有辨也。夫禽獸有父子而無父子之親，有牝牡而無男女之別，故人道莫不有辨。辨莫大於分，分莫大於禮，禮莫大於聖王。聖王有百，吾孰法焉？故曰：文久而滅，節族久而絶，守法數之有司極禮而褫。故曰：欲觀聖王之跡，則於其粲然者矣，後王是也。彼後王者，天下之君也，舍後王而道上古，譬之是猶舍己之君而事人之君也。故曰：欲觀千歲則數今日，欲知億萬則審一二，欲知上世則審周道，欲知周道則審其人所貴君子。故曰：以近知遠，以一知萬，以微知明。此之謂也。
A man has three unlucky things: being young and not willing to serve his elders, being lowly and not willing to serve the honored, being unworthy and not willing to serve the worthy. These are man's three unlucky things.
A man has three things that surely block him. To be above and not be able to love those below, and to be below and love to fault the man above, is the first thing that surely blocks a man. Face to face not to match them, and behind their backs to slander them, is the second thing that surely blocks a man. To be shallow and thin in knowing and conduct, so that crooked and straight stand far apart in him, and yet the benevolent man cannot push him forward and the wise scholar cannot make him clear, is the third thing that surely blocks a man.
If a man has these three sorts of conduct, then above he is surely in peril and below he is surely destroyed. The Odes say, "Snow and rain come down thick, and when the sun shines they melt away at once. They are not willing to be brought low, and they sit on and on in haughtiness." This is what is meant.
What is it that makes a man a man? I say, it is that he makes distinctions.
Hungry, he wants to eat; cold, he wants warmth; weary, he wants rest; he loves profit and hates harm. This a man has at birth, and it is so without waiting for anything. In this King Yu and Jie were the same. So what makes a man a man is not merely that he has two feet and no hair, but that he makes distinctions.
Now the ape is shaped like a man and also has two feet and no hair. And yet the gentleman drinks its broth and eats its flesh. So what makes a man a man is not merely that he has two feet and no hair, but that he makes distinctions.
Birds and beasts have father and son but not the love of father and son, and have male and female but not the distinction of man and woman. So in the way of men there is nothing without distinction.
No distinction is greater than division, no division is greater than ritual, and no ritual is greater than the sage king. There are a hundred sage kings; which of them shall I take for my law? So it is said that writing, when it is old, fades away, and measure and joint, when they are old, break off, and the officers who keep the law and the counts are stripped when they carry ritual to its end.
So it is said that if a man would see the traces of the sage kings, he will see them in what is bright, and that is the later kings. Those later kings are the lords of all under heaven. To cast aside the later kings and speak of the far antiquity is like casting aside one's own lord and serving another man's lord.
So it is said: if you would view a thousand years, reckon this day; if you would know the countless, examine one and two; if you would know the ages above, examine the way of Zhou; if you would know the way of Zhou, examine the gentlemen its men held honored. So it is said: by the near know the far, by the one know the ten thousand, by the small know the bright. This is what is meant.
夫妄人曰：「古今異情，其所以治亂者異道。」而衆人惑焉。彼衆人者，愚而無說，陋而無度者也。其所見焉，猶可欺也，而況於千世之傳也！妄人者，門庭之間，猶可誣欺也，而況於千世之上乎！聖人何以不可欺？曰：聖人者，以己度者也。故以人度人，以情度情，以類度類，以說度功，以道觀盡，古今一度也。類不悖，雖久同理，故鄉乎邪曲而不迷，觀乎雜物而不惑，以此度之。五帝之外無傳人，非無賢人也，久故也。五帝之中無傳政，非無善政也，久故也。禹、湯有傳政而不若周之察也，非無善政也，久故也。傳者久則論略，近則論詳，略則舉大，詳則舉小。愚者聞其略而不知其詳，聞其詳而不知其大也，是以文久而滅，節族久而絶。
A reckless man says, "Old and present differ in their feelings, and what makes them ordered or disordered differs in its way," and the many are led astray by it. Those many are the foolish who have no discourse, the narrow who have no measure. What they see with their own eyes can still be falsified, and how much more what has been handed down a thousand ages. A reckless man can be lied to and cheated even about what lies between his gate and his courtyard, and how much more about what lies a thousand ages above.
How is it that the sage cannot be cheated? I say, the sage is one who measures by himself. So he measures man by man, feeling by feeling, kind by kind, merit by discourse, and views the whole by the way, and old and present are of one measure. If the kind is not awry, then though it be long ago the principle is the same. So he faces what is wrong and crooked and is not deluded, and looks on mixed things and is not confused, for he measures by this.
That no men are handed down from beyond the Five Emperors is not that there were no worthy men, but because it is long ago. That no government is handed down from among the Five Emperors is not that there was no good government, but because it is long ago. That King Yu and King Tang have government handed down, and yet it is not as detailed as that of Zhou, is not that there was no good government, but because it is long ago.
What is handed down, when it is far off, is discussed roughly, and when it is near is discussed in detail. Roughly, the great things are cited; in detail, the small things are cited. The foolish man hears the rough account and does not know its detail, and hears the detail and does not know its greatness. So writing, when it is old, fades away, and measure and joint, when they are old, break off.
凡言不合先王，不順禮義，謂之姦言，雖辯，君子不聽。法先王，順禮義，黨學者，然而不好言，不樂言，則必非誠士也。故君子之於言也，志好之，行安之，樂言之。故君子必辯。凡人莫不好言其所善，而君子爲甚。故贈人以言，重於金石珠玉；觀人以言，美於黼黻、文章；聽人以言，樂於鐘鼓琴瑟。故君子之於言無厭。鄙夫反是，好其實，不恤其文，是以終身不免埤汙傭俗。故《易》曰：「括囊，無咎無譽。」腐儒之謂也。
Any word that does not accord with the former kings and does not follow ritual and rightness is called a crooked word, and though it be clear the gentleman does not listen to it.
To take the former kings for law, to follow ritual and rightness, and to keep company with learners, and yet not to love speaking and not to delight in speaking, is surely not to be a true scholar.
So the gentleman, as to words, loves them in purpose, rests in them in conduct, and delights in speaking them. So the gentleman surely speaks clearly.
There is no man who does not love to speak of what he holds good, and the gentleman most of all. So to give a man words is weightier than metal and stone and pearl and jade, to show a man by words is fairer than embroidered pattern, and to hear a man's words is more delightful than bell and drum and lute and zither. So the gentleman never tires of words.
The low fellow is the reverse of this. He loves the kernel and does not care for the adorning, and so to the end of his days he does not escape what is low and foul and commonplace. So the Book of Changes says, "Tie up the sack: there is no fault and no praise." This means the rotten scholar.
凡說之難，以至高遇至卑，以至治接至亂。未可直至也，遠舉則病繆，近世則病傭。善者於是閒也，亦必遠舉而不繆，近世而不傭，與時遷徙，與世偃仰，緩急嬴絀，府然若渠匽檃栝之於己也，曲得所謂焉，然而不折傷。故君子之度己則以繩，接人則用抴。度己以繩，故足以爲天下法則矣。接人用抴，故能寬容，因衆以成天下之大事矣。故君子賢而能容罷，知而能容愚，博而能容淺，粹而能容雜，夫是之謂兼術。《詩》曰：「徐方既同，天子之功。」此之謂也。
The hardship of discourse lies in meeting what is utterly low with what is utterly high, and in facing what is utterly disordered with what is utterly ordered. One cannot get there straight. Cite what is far off and there is the fault of being wrong; cite the near age and there is the fault of being common.
The man who is good at it, in between these, surely cites what is far off and is not wrong, cites the near age and is not common, shifts with the times and bends and rises with the age, and slackens and tightens and stretches and shrinks as though the dam and the straightening frame were in himself, so that even going roundabout he gets what he means, and yet is not broken or hurt.
So the gentleman measures himself with the marking line and meets others with the plank that draws men up. Measuring himself with the marking line, he is fit to be the law of all under heaven. Meeting others with the plank that draws men up, he can be broad and hold them, and through the many he achieves the great work of all under heaven.
So the gentleman is worthy and can hold the unworthy, is wise and can hold the foolish, is broad and can hold the shallow, is pure and can hold the mixed. This is called the art of embracing all. The Odes say, "The land of Xu (徐) is already made one; it is the Son of Heaven's merit." This is what is meant.
談說之術：矜莊以莅之，端誠以處之，堅彊以持之，分別以喻之，譬稱以明之，欣驩芬薌以送之，寶之珍之，貴之神之，如是則說常無不受。雖不說人，人莫不貴，夫是之謂爲能貴其所貴。傳曰：「唯君子爲能貴其所貴。」此之謂也。
The art of speaking is this. Come to it with gravity and weight, dwell in it upright and true, hold it firm and strong, part it out to open it up, set things beside it to make it clear, and send it forth with gladness and fragrance, and hold it a treasure, hold it rare, hold it honored, hold it divine. Do it thus and there is never a word that is not received. Though others are not made glad, there is none who does not hold it honored. This is called being able to honor what is honorable. It is handed down that "only the gentleman is able to honor what is honorable." This is what is meant.
君子必辯。凡人莫不好言其所善，而君子爲甚焉。是以小人辯言險而君子辯言仁也。言而非仁之中也，則其言不若其默也，其辯不若其吶也；言而仁之中也，則好言者上矣，不好言者下也。故仁言大矣。起於上所以道於下，正令是也；起於下所以忠於上，謀救是也。故君子之行仁也無厭。志好之，行安之，樂言之，故言君子必辯。小辯不如見端，見端不如見本分。小辯而察，見端而明，本分而理，聖人士君子之分具矣。有小人之辯者，有士君子之辯者，有聖人之辯者：不先慮，不早謀，發之而當，成文而類，居錯遷徙，應變不窮，是聖人之辯者也。先慮之，早謀之，斯須之言而足聽，文而致實，博而黨正，是士君子之辯者也。聽其言則辭辯而無統，用其身則多詐而無功，上不足以順明王，下不足以和齊百姓，然而口舌之均，噡唯則節，足以爲奇偉偃卻之屬，夫是之謂姦人之雄，聖王起，所以先誅也。然後盜賊次之。盜賊得變，此不得變也。
The gentleman surely speaks clearly. There is no man who does not love to speak of what he holds good, and the gentleman most of all. So the small man speaks clearly and his words are sinister, while the gentleman speaks clearly and his words are benevolent.
If he speaks and it does not hit benevolence, then his speaking is not as good as his silence and his clearness is not as good as his stammering. If he speaks and it hits benevolence, then he who loves to speak is above and he who does not love to speak is below. So benevolent words are great.
What rises from above to lead those below is the correct command, and what rises from below to give true service to those above is planning and rescue. So the gentleman never tires of doing benevolence. He loves it in purpose, rests in it in conduct, and delights in speaking it. So it is said that the gentleman surely speaks clearly.
Small disputing is not as good as showing the thread, and showing the thread is not as good as showing the root and its divisions. Dispute in small things and yet look closely, show the thread and be clear, have the root and its divisions in order, and the divisions of the sage and of the scholar and the gentleman are complete.
There is the disputing of the small man, the disputing of the scholar and the gentleman, and the disputing of the sage.
Not to think beforehand and not to plan early, and yet what he brings out is fitting and what he makes into writing has its kind, and in placing and setting down and shifting he meets change and is never used up — this is the disputing of the sage.
To think beforehand and plan early, so that even a word of the moment is worth hearing, and to adorn and yet reach the kernel, to be broad and yet keep the party correct — this is the disputing of the scholar and the gentleman.
Hear his words and they are clear but have no guiding thread; use his person and there is much deceit and no merit; above, he is not enough to follow an enlightened king, and below, he is not enough to bring the people into harmony. And yet his mouth and tongue are even and his muttering has its joints, so that he is fit to be one of the strange and swaggering sort. This is called the chief of crooked men. When a sage king arises, he is the first to be put to death, and robbers and thieves come next. Robbers and thieves can be changed, but these men cannot be changed.