XUNZI.
Introduction.
Before the unification of China by the Qin state in 221 B.C.E., which brought to a close the cla.s.sical period of Chinese philosophy, Confucianism had one last great exponent, Xunzi , whose work represents the highest development of the school in the Warring States period. Whereas the views of Kongzi and Mengzi are preserved only in piecemeal sayings, Xunzi"s thought has come down to the present in the form of tightly constructed essays that give sustained discussion of various topics and together const.i.tute a remarkably coherent system of arguments. Although his writing is not quite as colorful as that of Zhuangzi, his style is extremely elegant and forceful, occasionally bursting into poetry that movingly conveys his pa.s.sion for the Confucian way of life.
Much of Xunzi"s effort is devoted to ardently defending Confucianism against various challenges. For example, he vehemently condemns Mozi"s rejection of ritual and music and argues vigorously that these cultural forms are absolutely necessary. He also attacks Laozi and Zhuangzi for advocating that people adopt the perspective of Heaven and abandon conventional values in favor of yielding to the natural flow of things. Xunzi instead stresses the distinctive importance of the human point of view, and in stark contrast to their emphasis on wuwei , "nonaction" or "non-striving action," he claims that good things are achieved only through wei , "deliberate effort." Yet even as he repudiates rival philosophers, Xunzi also learns from them and incorporates their insights. The influence of Zhuangzi on his thought is particularly evident in his characterization of the heart as mirror-like and in his description of how it comes to know the Way, though the substance of Xunzi"s views differs considerably from that of Zhuangzi.
For Xunzi, the threats to Confucianism come not only from outside the tradition, but also from within it, in the form of Mengzi"s doctrine that human nature is good. In Xunzi"s opinion, such a claim undermines the authority of ritual as a guide to behavior, destroys the necessity of learning, and simply flies in the face of the facts. Xunzi makes the opposite declaration that human nature is bad, but this should not be read as saying that people naturally delight in evil. Rather, his point is that people lack any inborn guide to right conduct, and that without the external restraint of ritual they will fall into wrongdoing and be reduced to a chaotic, impoverished state strongly reminiscent of the "state of nature" depicted by Thomas Hobbes. Nevertheless, Xunzi shares Mengzi"s belief that everyone has the potential to achieve moral perfection. However, since we are not inclined to virtue by nature, the process of self-transformation will be slow and difficult, and this idea is reflected in Xunzi"s repeated comparison of learning with the harsh processes involved in bending wood.
In his own day, Xunzi was a well-known scholar and was even given high office at one point. Among his students were Han Feizi and Li Si, who was instrumental in bringing about the Qin state"s domination of China. Xunzi may even have lived to witness this event. Other students of his were responsible for preserving cla.s.sic Chinese texts, including the Odes. Despite Xunzi"s important position in early Chinese intellectual history, when Mengzi"s views later came to be favored, Xunzi was rejected for claiming that human nature is bad, and his works were largely neglected for centuries. Recently, however, there has been a renewal of scholarly interest in Xunzi, and he is once again receiving the attention he deserves.
Chapter One: An Exhortation to Learning.
The gentleman says: Learning must never stop. Blue dye is gotten from the indigo plant, and yet it is bluer than the plant. Ice comes from water, and yet it is colder than water. Through steaming and bending, you can make wood straight as a plumb line into a wheel. And after its curve conforms to the compa.s.s, even when parched under the sun it will not become straight again, because the steaming and bending have made it a certain way. Likewise, when wood comes under the ink-line, it becomes straight, and when metal is brought to the whetstone, it becomes sharp.1 The gentleman learns broadly and examines himself thrice daily,2 and then his knowledge is clear and his conduct is without fault.
And so if you do not climb a high mountain, you will not know the height of Heaven. If you do not approach a deep ravine, you will not know the depth of the earth. If you do not hear the words pa.s.sed down from the former kings, you will not know the magnificence of learning. The children of the Han, Yue, Yi, and Mo3 peoples all cry with the same sound at birth, but when grown they have different customs, because teaching makes them be this way. . . .
I once spent the whole day pondering, but it wasn"t as good as a moment"s worth of learning.4 I once stood on my toes to look far away, but it wasn"t as good as the broad view from a high place. If you climb to a high place and wave, you have not lengthened your arms, but you can be seen from farther away. If you shout from upwind, you have not made your voice stronger, but you can be heard more clearly. One who makes use of a chariot and horses has not thereby improved his feet, but he can now go a thousand li. One who makes use of a boat and oars has not thereby become able to swim, but he can now cross rivers and streams. The gentleman is not different from others by birth. Rather, he is good at making use of things. . . .
If you acc.u.mulate enough earth to form a mountain, then wind and rain will arise from it. If you acc.u.mulate enough water to form a deep pool, then dragons will come to live in it. If you acc.u.mulate enough goodness to achieve Virtue, then you will naturally attain to spiritlike powers and enlightenment, and the heart of a sage is complete therein.
And so, If you do not acc.u.mulate little steps, You will have no way to go a thousand li.
If you do not acc.u.mulate small streams, You will have no way to form river or sea.5 Even the famous horse Qi Ji6 could not go more than ten paces in a single leap, but with ten days of riding even an old nag can equal him, because accomplishment rests in not giving up.7 If you start carving and give up, you won"t even be able to break rotten wood, but if you start carving and don"t give up, then you can engrave even metal and stone. The earthworm does not have sharp teeth and claws, nor does it have strong bones and muscles. Yet, above, it eats of the earth, and below, it drinks from the Yellow Springs,8 because it acts with single-mindedness. In contrast, the crab has six legs and two pincers. Yet were it not for the abandoned holes of water-snakes and eels, it would have no place to lodge, because it is frenetic-minded.
For this reason, Without Somber intention, No brilliant understanding can there be.
Without determined efforts, No glorious achievements will one see. . . .
Where does learning begin? Where does learning end? I say: Its order begins with reciting the cla.s.sics, and ends with studying ritual. Its purpose begins with becoming a n.o.ble man, and ends with becoming a sage. If you truly acc.u.mulate effort for a long time, then you will advance. Learning proceeds until death and only then does it stop. And so the order of learning has a stopping point, but its purpose cannot be given up for even a moment. To pursue it is to be human, to give it up is to be a beast. The History is the record of government affairs. The Odes is the repository of temperate sounds. Rituals are the great divisions in the proper model for things; they are the outlines of the proper cla.s.ses of things. And so learning comes to ritual and then stops, for this is called the ultimate point in pursuit of the Way and Virtue. In the reverence and refinement of ritual, the balance and harmony of music, the broad content of the Odes and History, the subtleties of the Spring and Autumn Annals, all things between Heaven and earth are complete.
The learning of the gentleman enters through his ears, fastens to his heart, spreads through his four limbs, and manifests itself in his actions. His slightest word, his most subtle movement, all can serve as a model for others. The learning of the petty person enters through his ears and pa.s.ses out his mouth. From mouth to ears is only four inches-how could it be enough to improve a whole body much larger than that? Students in ancient times learned for their own sake, but the students of today learn for the sake of impressing others.9 Thus the learning of the gentleman is used to improve his own person, while the learning of the petty man is used like gift-oxen.10 To speak without being asked is what people call being presumptuous, and to speak two things when asked only one is what people call being wordy. Being presumptuous is wrong, and being wordy is wrong. The gentleman is simply like an echo.
In learning, nothing is more expedient than to draw near to the right person. Rituals and music provide proper models but give no precepts. The Odes and History contain ancient stories but no explanation of their present application. The Spring and Autumn Annals is terse and cannot be quickly understood. However, if you imitate the right person in his practice of the precepts of the gentleman, then you will come to honor these things for their comprehensiveness, and see them as encompa.s.sing the whole world. Thus, in learning there is nothing more expedient than to draw near to the right person.
Of the paths to learning, none is quicker than to like the right person, and exalting ritual comes second. If at best you cannot like the right person, and at worst you cannot exalt ritual, then you will simply be learning haphazard knowledge and focusing your intentions on blindly following the Odes and History. If so, then to the end of your days you cannot avoid being nothing more than a vulgar scholar.11 If you are going to take the former kings as your fount and make benevolence and righteousness12 your root, then rituals are exactly the highways and byways for you. It will be like the action of turning up your fur collar by simply curling your five fingers and pulling on it-it goes smoothly numberless times. If you do not take the regulations of ritual as your way, but instead go at it with just the Odes and History, then it will be like trying to measure the depth of a river with your finger, or trying to pound millet with a halberd, or trying to eat out of a pot with an awl-you simply will not succeed at it. And so if you exalt ritual, then even if you are not brilliant, you will still be a man of the proper model. If you do not exalt ritual, then even if you are an acute debater, you will be only a dissolute scholar. . . .
One who misses a single shot out of a hundred does not deserve to be called good at archery. One who falls short of going a thousand li by a half-step does not deserve to be called good at chariot-driving. One who does not fully comprehend the proper kinds and cla.s.ses of things, or who is not single-minded in pursuit of benevolence and righteousness, does not deserve to be called good at learning. Learning is precisely learning to pursue them single-mindedly. To depart from it in one affair and enter into it in another is the way of common people. The good men among them are few. The bad men among them are many. Such were Jie and Zhou and Robber Zhi. Make it perfect and complete, and only then is it truly learning.
The gentleman knows that whatever is imperfect and unrefined does not deserve praise. And so he repeatedly recites his learning in order to master it, ponders it over in order to comprehend it, makes his person so as to dwell in it, and eliminates things harmful to it in order to nourish it. He makes his eyes not want to see what is not right, makes his ears not want to hear what is not right, makes his mouth not want to speak what is not right, and makes his heart not want to deliberate over what is not right.13 He comes to the point where he loves it, and then his eyes love it more than the five colors, his ears love it more than the five tones, his mouth loves it more than the five flavors, and his heart considers it more profitable than possessing the whole world. For this reason, power and profit cannot sway him, the ma.s.ses cannot shift him, and nothing in the world can shake him.14 He lives by this, and he dies by this. This is called grasping Virtue. When one has grasped Virtue, then one can achieve fixity. When one can achieve fixity, then one can respond to things. To be capable both of fixity and of responding to things-such a one is called the perfected person. Heaven shows off its brilliance, earth shows off its breadth, and the gentleman values his perfection.
Chapter Two: Cultivating Oneself.
When you observe goodness in others, then inspect yourself, desirous of studying it. When you observe badness in others, then examine yourself, fearful of discovering it.15 If you find goodness in your person, then approve of yourself, desirous of holding firm to it. If you find badness in your person, then reproach yourself, regarding it as calamity. And so, he who rightly criticizes me is my teacher, and he who rightly supports me is my friend, while he who flatters and toadies to me is someone who would do me villainy. Accordingly, the gentleman exalts his teachers and loves his friends, so as to utterly hate those who would do him villainy. He loves goodness tirelessly, and can receive admonitions and take heed. Even if he desired not to improve, how could he avoid it?
The petty man is the opposite. He is utterly disorderly, but hates for people to criticize him. He is utterly unworthy, but wishes for people to consider him worthy. His heart is like that of a tiger or wolf, and his conduct like that of beasts, but he hates for people to consider him a villain. To those who flatter and toady to him he shows favor, while those who would admonish him he keeps at a distance. Those who try to be correct he considers laughable, and those truly loyal to him he considers villains. Even though he wishes not to perish, how could he avoid it? The Odes says, They conspire and slander. How greatly lamentable!
Plans worth adopting, they wholly reject.
Plans worth dismissing, they wholly accept.16 This expresses my meaning.
The measure for goodness in all things is this: Use it to control your qi and nourish your life, Then you will live longer than Peng Zu.
Use it to cultivate yourself and establish your fame, Then you will equal Yao and Yu.
It is fitting in times of prosperity.
It is useful in facing adversity -truly such is ritual. If your exertions of blood, qi, intention, and thought accord with ritual, they will be ordered and effective. If they do not accord with ritual, they will be disorderly and unproductive. If your meals, clothing, dwelling, and activities accord with ritual, they will be congenial and well regulated. If they do not accord with ritual, then you will encounter dangers and illnesses. If your countenance, bearing, movements, and stride accord with ritual, they will be graceful. If they do not accord with ritual, they will be barbaric, obtuse, perverse, vulgar, and unruly. Hence, In lives without ritual people cannot survive; In affairs without ritual success does not thrive; To states without ritual peace does not arrive.
The Odes says, "Their rituals and ceremonies completely follow the proper measure. Their laughter and speech are completely appropriate."17 This expresses my meaning.
To lead others along in what is good is called "teaching." To harmonize with others in what is good is called "proper compliance." To lead others along in what is bad is called "flattery." To harmonize with others in what is bad is called "toadying." To approve of what is right and condemn what is wrong is called "wisdom." To approve of what is wrong and condemn what is right is called "stupidity." To attack a good person is called "slander." To injure a good person is called "villainy." To call the right as right and the wrong as wrong is called "uprightness." To steal goods is called "thievery." To conceal one"s actions is called "deceptiveness." To speak too easily of things is called "boastfulness." To be without fixity in one"s likes and dislikes is called "lacking constancy." To abandon righteousness in favor of profit is called "utmost villainy." To have heard many things is called "broadness." To have heard few things is called "shallowness." To have seen many things is called "being learned." To have seen few things is called "boorishness."18 To have difficulty in progressing is called "indolence." To forget things easily is called "being leaky." For one"s actions to be few and well ordered is called "being controlled." For one"s actions to be many and disorderly is called "being wasteful."
These are the methods for controlling the qi and nourishing the heart: For unyielding qi, soften it with harmoniousness. For overly deep thinking, simplify it with easy goodness. For overly ferocious courage, reform it with proper compliance. For expedience-seeking hastiness, restrain it with regulated movements. For small-minded narrowness, broaden it with expansiveness. For excessive humility, sluggishness, or greed for profit, resist it with lofty intentions. For vulgarness or dissoluteness, expunge it with teachers and friends. For indolence or profligacy, illuminate it with the prospect of disasters. For simpleminded rect.i.tude or honest integrity, make it suitable with ritual and music, and enlighten it with reflection. In each method of controlling the qi and nourishing the heart, nothing is more direct than following ritual, nothing is more important than having a good teacher, and nothing works with greater spiritlike efficacy than to like it with single-minded devotion. These are called the methods for controlling the qi and nourishing the heart.
One whose intentions and thoughts are cultivated will disregard wealth and n.o.bility. One whose greatest concern is for the Way and righteousness will take lightly kings and dukes. It is simply that when one examines oneself on the inside, external goods carry little weight. A saying goes, "The gentleman makes things his servants. The petty man is servant to things." This expresses my meaning. If an action tires your body but puts your heart at ease, do it. If it involves little profit but much righteousness, do it. Being successful in the service of a ruler who creates chaos is not as good as simply being compliant in the service of an impoverished ruler. And so, a good farmer does not fail to plant because of drought, a good merchant does not fail to open shop because of losses, and the n.o.ble man and the gentleman are not lax in their pursuit of the Way because of poverty.
If your bearing is reverent and respectful and your heart is loyal and faithful, if your method is ritual and the standards of righteousness and your disposition19 is concern for others, then you may wander across the whole world, and even if you become trapped among barbarians, no one will not value you. If you are eager to take the lead in laborious matters, if you can give way in pleasant matters, and if you show integrity, honesty, reliability faithfulness, self-control, and meticulousness, then you may wander across the whole world, and even if you become trapped among barbarians, no one will not employ you. If your bearing is arrogant and obtuse and your heart is stubborn and deceitful, if your method is to follow Mozi20 and your truest essence is polluted and corrupt, then you may wander across the whole world, and even if you reach every corner of it, no one will not consider you base. If you try to put off or wriggle out of laborious matters, if you are grasping and will not yield in pleasant matters, if you are perverse and dishonest, if you are not meticulous in work, then you may wander across the whole world, and even if you reach every corner of it, no one will not reject you. . . .
He who likes the right model and carries it out is a man of good breeding. He who focuses his intentions upon it and embodies it is a gentleman. He who completely understands it and practices it without tiring is a sage. If a person lacks the proper model, then he will act recklessly. If he has the proper model but does not fix his intentions on its true meaning, then he will act too rigidly. If he relies on the proper model and also deeply understands its categories, only then will he act with comfortable mastery of it.
Ritual is that by which to correct your person. The teacher is that by which to correct your practice of ritual.21 If you are without ritual, then how will you correct your person? If you are without a teacher, how will you know that your practice of ritual is right? When ritual dictates thus-and-so, and you are thus-and-so, then this means your disposition accords with ritual. When the teacher explains thus-and-so, and you also explain thus-and-so, then this means your understanding is just like your teacher"s understanding. If your disposition accords with ritual, and your understanding is just like your teacher"s understanding, then this is to be a sage. And so, to contradict ritual is to be without a proper model, and to contradict your teacher is to be without a teacher. If you do not concur with your teacher and the proper model but instead like to use your own judgment, then this is like relying on a blind person to distinguish colors, or like relying on a deaf person to distinguish sounds. You will accomplish nothing but chaos and recklessness. And so, in learning, ritual is your proper model, and the teacher is one whom you take as the correct standard and whom you aspire to accord with. The Odes says, "While not knowing, not understanding, he follows the principles of the Lord on High."22 This expresses my meaning. . . .
In seeking profit, the gentleman acts with restraint. In averting harms, he acts early. In avoiding disgrace, he acts fearfully. In carrying out the Way, he acts courageously. Even if he lives in poverty, the gentleman"s intentions are still grand. Even if he is wealthy and honored, his demeanor is reverent. Even if he lives at ease, his qi is not lazy. Even if he is weary from toil, his countenance is not disagreeable. When angry he is not excessively harsh, and when happy he is not excessively indulgent. The gentlemen retains grand intentions even in poverty, because he exalts benevolence. He maintains a reverent demeanor even when wealthy and honored, because he takes lightly contingent fortune. His qi does not become lazy when he is at ease, because he is heedful of good order. His countenance is not disagreeable even when weary from toil, because he is fond of good relations. He is neither excessively harsh when angry nor excessively indulgent when happy, because his adherence to the proper model overcomes any personal capriciousness. The History says, "Do not innovate in your fondnesses; follow the Way of the kings. Do not innovate in your aversions; follow the road of the kings."23 This is saying that through his avoidance of prejudice24 and adherence to righteousness the gentleman overcomes capricious personal desires.
Chapter Five: Against Physiognomy.
. . . What is that by which humans are human? I say: It is because they have distinctions. Desiring food when hungry, desiring warmth when cold, desiring rest when tired, liking the beneficial and hating the harmful-these are things people have from birth. These one does not have to await, but are already so. These are what Yu and Jie both share. However, that by which humans are human is not that they are special in having two legs and no feathers, but that they have distinctions. Now the ape"s form is such that it also has two legs and no feathers. However, the gentleman sips ape soup and eats ape meat. Thus, that by which humans are human is not that they are special in having two legs and no feathers, but that they have distinctions. The birds and beasts have fathers and sons but not the intimate relationship of father and son. They have the male s.e.x and the female s.e.x but no differentiation between male and female. And so among human ways, none is without distinctions. Of distinctions, none are greater than social divisions, and of social divisions, none are greater than rituals, and of rituals, none are greater than those of the sage-kings.25 But there are a hundred sage-kings-which of them shall one take as one"s model? And so I say: Culture persists for a long time and then expires, regulations persist for a long time and then cease. The authorities in charge of preserving models and arrangements do their utmost in carrying out ritual but lose their grasp. And so I say: If you wish to observe the tracks of the sage-kings, then look to the most clear among them. Such are the later kings. The later kings were rulers of the whole world. To reject the later kings and take one"s way from furthest antiquity is like rejecting one"s own ruler and serving another"s ruler. And so I say: If you wish to observe a thousand years" time, then reckon upon today"s events. If you wish to understand ten thousand or one hundred thousand, then examine one and two. If you wish to understand the ancient ages, then examine the way of the Zhou. If you wish to understand the way of the Zhou, then examine the gentlemen that their people valued. Thus it is said: Use the near to know the far; use the one to know the ten thousand; use the subtle to know the brilliant. This expresses my meaning. . . .
Chapter Eight: The Achievements of the Ru.
The Way of the former kings consists in exalting benevolence. Cleave to what is central in carrying it out. What do I mean by "what is central"? I say: It is ritual and the standards of righteousness. The Way is not the way of Heaven, nor is it the way of earth.26 It is that whereby humans make their way and that which the gentleman takes as his way.
Chapter Nine: The Regulations of a True King.
. . . Water and fire have qi but are without life. Gra.s.ses and trees have life but are without awareness. Birds and beasts have awareness but are without standards of righteousness. Humans have qi and life and awareness, and moreover they have yi , "standards of righteousness." And so they are the most precious things under Heaven. They are not as strong as oxen or as fast as horses, but oxen and horses are used by them. How is this so? I say: It is because humans are able to form communities while the animals cannot. Why are humans able to form communities? I say: It is because of social divisions. How can social divisions be put into practice? I say: It is because of standards of righteousness. And so if they use standards of righteousness in order to make social divisions, then they will be harmonized. If they are harmonized, then they will be unified. If they are unified, then they will have more force. If they have more force, then they will be strong. If they are strong, then they will be able to overcome the animals. And so they can get to live in homes and palaces. Thus, that people can order themselves with the four seasons, control the ten thousand things, and bring benefit to all under Heaven is for no other reason than that they get these things from social divisions and standards of righteousness. And so human life cannot be without community. If they form communities but are without social divisions, then they will struggle. If they struggle, then there will be chaos. If there is chaos then they will disband. If they disband then they will be weak. If they are weak then they cannot overcome the animals. And so they will not get to live in homes and palaces. This is the meaning of saying that "one must not let go of ritual and the standards of righteousness for even a moment."
One who can use these to serve his parents is called filial. One who can use these to serve his elder brother is called a proper younger brother. One who can use these to serve his superiors is called properly compliant. One who can use these to employ his subordinates is called a proper ruler. The true ruler is one who is good at forming a community.27 When the way of forming community is properly practiced, then the ten thousand things will each obtain what is appropriate for them, the six domestic animals will each obtain their proper growth, and all the various living things will obtain their proper lifespans. And so, when nurturing accords with the proper times, then the six domestic animals will multiply. When reaping accords with the proper times, then the gra.s.ses and trees will flourish. If government commands accord with the proper times, then the common people will be united, and good and worthy men will gladly follow.
These are the regulations of a sage-king: When the gra.s.ses and trees are flowering and abundant, then axes and hatchets are not to enter the mountains and forests, so as not to cut short their life, and not to break off their growth. When the turtles and crocodiles, fish and eels are pregnant and giving birth, then nets and drugs are not to enter the marshes, so as not to cut short their life, and not to break off their growth. Plow in the spring, weed in the summer, harvest in the fall, and store in the winter. These four activities are not to miss their proper times, and then the five grains will not be depleted, and the common people will have a surplus to eat. Be vigilant in the seasonal prohibitions concerning ponds, rivers, and marshes, and then turtles and fish will be fine and plentiful, and the common people will have a surplus to use. Cutting and nurturing are not to miss their proper times, and then the mountains and forests will not be barren, and the common people will have surplus materials.
This is the way a sage-king operates: He observes Heaven above, and applies this knowledge on earth below. He arranges completely everything between Heaven and earth and spreads beneficence over the ten thousand things. His actions are subtle but ill.u.s.trious, brief but of long-lasting consequence, narrowly confined but of wide-ranging impact. He has spiritlike powers of intelligence that are broad and vast, yet work by the utmost restraint. Thus it is said: The person who by even the slightest movements always does what is right is called a sage.28. . .
Chapter Twelve: The Way to Be a Lord.
There are chaotic lords; there are no states chaotic of themselves. There are men who create order; there are no rules29 creating order of themselves. The rules of Archer Yi have not perished, but not every age has an Archer Yi who hits the target precisely. The rules of Yu still survive, but not every age has a Xia dynasty to reign as true kings. Thus, rules cannot stand alone, and categories cannot implement themselves. If one has the right person, then they will be preserved. If one loses the right person, then they will be lost. The rules are the beginning of order, and the gentleman is the origin of the rules. And so, with the gentleman present, even if the rules are sketchy, they are enough to be comprehensive. Without the gentleman, even if the rules are complete, one will fail to apply them in the right order and will be unable to respond to changes in affairs, and thus they can serve to create chaos. One who tries to correct the arrangements of the rules without understanding their meaning, even if he is broadly learned, is sure to create chaos when engaged in affairs. And so, the enlightened ruler hastens to obtain the right person.
Chapter Seventeen: Discourse on Heaven.
The activities of Heaven are constant. They do not persist because of Yao. They do not perish because of Jie. If you respond to them with order, then you will have good fortune. If you respond to them with chaos, then you will have misfortune. If you strengthen the fundamental works30 and moderate expenditures, then Heaven cannot make you poor. If your means of nurture are prepared and your actions are timely then Heaven cannot make you ill. If you cultivate the Way and do not deviate from it, then Heaven cannot ruin you. Thus, floods and drought cannot make you go hungry or thirsty, cold and heat cannot make you sick, and aberrations and anomalies cannot cause you misfortune.
If the fundamental works are neglected and expenditures are extravagant, then Heaven cannot make you wealthy. If your means of nurture are spa.r.s.e and your actions are infrequent, then Heaven cannot make you sound in body. If you turn your back on the Way and act recklessly, then Heaven cannot make you fortunate. And so, although floods and drought have not yet come, you still will go hungry. Although heat and cold are not yet pressing, you still will become sick. Although aberrations and anomalies have not yet come, you still will have misfortune. Receiving the benefit of the seasons comes along with having an ordered age, but calamities and disasters are incompatible with there being an ordered age. You must not complain against Heaven; its way is simply thus. And so, one who understands clearly the respective allotments of Heaven and humans can be called a person of utmost achievement.
That which is accomplished without your doing it and which is obtained without your seeking it is called the work of Heaven. With respect to what is so, even though he thinks deeply, a proper person does not try to ponder it. Even though he is mighty, he does not try to augment it by his own abilities. Even though he is expertly refined, he does not try to make it more keenly honed. This is called not competing with Heaven"s work. When Heaven has its proper seasons, earth has its proper resources, and humans have their proper order, this is called being able to form a triad. To neglect that whereby we form a triad and wish instead for those things to which we stand as the third is a state of confusion. The arrayed stars follow each other in their revolutions, the sun and the moon take turns shining, the four seasons proceed in succession, yin and yang undergo their great transformations, and winds and rain are broadly bestowed. From harmony of these, the ten thousand things are made alive. Through nurturing by these, they come to thrive. That which one does not see the workings of but sees only its accomplishments- such is called spiritlike power. That which everyone knows how it comes about but no one understands it in its formless state-such is called the accomplishment of Heaven. Only the sage does not seek to understand Heaven.
When the work of Heaven has been established and the accomplishments of Heaven have been completed, then the body is set and spirit arises. Liking, disliking, happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy are contained therein- these are called one"s "Heavenly dispositions." The abilities of eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and body each have their respective objects and are not able to a.s.sume each other"s abilities-these are called one"s "Heavenly faculties." The heart dwells in the central cavity so as to control the five faculties- this is called one"s "Heavenly ruler."31 Using what is not of one"s kind as a resource for nourishing what is of one"s kind-this is called one"s "Heavenly nourishment." To be in accordance with what is proper for one"s kind is called "happiness," and to go against what is proper for one"s kind is called "disaster"-this is called one"s "Heavenly government." To becloud your Heavenly ruler, disorder your Heavenly faculties, abandon your Heavenly nourishment, go against your Heavenly government, and turn your back on your Heavenly dispositions, so that you lose the accomplishments of Heaven-this is called the "greatest misfortune." The sage keeps clear his Heavenly ruler, sets straight his Heavenly faculties, makes complete his Heavenly nourishment, accords with his Heavenly government, and nurtures his Heavenly dispositions, so as to keep whole the accomplishment of Heaven. A person who is thus is someone who knows what he is to do and what he is not to do. Then Heaven and earth will have their proper positions and the ten thousand things will all be servants to him. His conduct will be completely ordered, his nourishment will be completely appropriate, and his life will suffer no harm-this is called "knowing Heaven."
Thus, the greatest cleverness lies in not doing certain things, and the greatest wisdom lies in not pondering certain things. With respect to Heaven, focus only on those manifest phenomena to which you can align yourself. With respect to earth, focus only on those manifest places which are suitable for growing. With respect to the four seasons, focus only on that manifest order by which work is to be arranged. With respect to yin and yang, focus only on those manifest harmonies that can be used to order things. Let the officials keep watch over Heaven and you keep watch over the Way. . . .
If stars fall or trees cry out, the people of the state are filled with fear and say, "What is this?" I say: It is nothing. These are simply rarely occurring things among the changes in Heaven and earth and the transformations of yin and yang. To marvel at them is alright, but to fear them is not. Eclipses of the sun and moon, unseasonable winds and rain, unexpected appearances of strange stars-there is no age in which such things do not occur. If the superiors are enlightened and the government is stable, then even if all these things come about in the same age, there is no harm done. If the superiors are benighted and the government is unstable, then even if none of these things come to pa.s.s, it is of no benefit. The falling of stars and the crying out of trees are simply rarely occurring things among the changes in Heaven and earth and the transformations of yin and yang. To marvel at them is alright, but to fear them is not.
Of things that come to pa.s.s, it is human ill-omens that are to be feared. When poor plowing harms the planting, when the hoeing loses control over the weeds, when the government is unstable and loses control over the people, such that the fields are overgrown with weeds and the planting is bad, buying grain is expensive and the people face famine, and there are corpses lying in the roads-these are called "human ill-omens." When government orders are not clear, when policies are not timely, when the fundamental tasks are not well ordered-these are called "human ill-omens." When ritual and the standards of righteousness are not cultivated, when insiders and outsiders are not properly differentiated, when men and women engage in perverse, disorderly conduct, then father and son will be suspicious of one another, superiors and inferiors will desert one another, and bandits and other difficulties will arrive together-these are called "human ill-omens." Ill-omens thus arise from disorder. . . .
One performs the rain sacrifice and it rains. Why? I say: There is no special reason why. It is the same as when one does not perform the rain sacrifice and it rains anyway. When the sun and moon suffer eclipse, one tries to save them. When Heaven sends drought, one performs the rain sacrifice. One performs divination and only then decides on important affairs. But this is not for the sake of getting what one seeks, but rather to give things proper form. Thus, the gentleman looks upon this as proper form, but the common people look upon it as connecting with spirits. If one looks upon it as proper form, then one will have good fortune. If one looks upon it as connecting with spirits, then one will have ill fortune. . . .
To exalt Heaven and long for it-32 How can this compare to nourishing things and overseeing them?
To obey Heaven and praise it- How can this compare to overseeing what Heaven has mandated and using it?
To observe the seasons and wait upon them- How can this compare to responding to the seasons and employing them?
To follow along with things and increase them- How can this compare to developing their powers and transforming them?
To long for things and appraise them- How can this compare to ordering things and never losing them?
To desire that from which things arise- How can this compare to taking hold of that by which things are completed?
Thus, if one rejects what lies with man and instead longs for what lies with Heaven, then one will have lost grasp of the true disposition of things.
The unchanging element among the reigns of the hundred kings can serve as the thread of the Way. As one thing pa.s.ses by and another arises, respond to them with this thread. If one has mastered the thread, there will be no chaos. If one does not know the thread, one will not know how to respond to changes. The major substance of the thread has never perished, but chaos arises from falling short of it, whereas order arises from adhering to it meticulously. And so as for what is counted good in light of the Way, courses of action conforming to it may be followed, but those veering from it may not be followed. Those that obscure it will create great confusion. Those who cross waters mark out the deep places, but if the markers are not clear, then people will fall in. Those who order the people mark out the Way, but if the markers are not clear, then there will be chaos. The rituals are those markers. To reject ritual is to bemuddle the world, and to bemuddle the world is to create great chaos. And so, when the Way is in no part unclear, and that which is within the bounds and outside the bounds have different markers, and that which is inglorious and that which is ill.u.s.trious have constant measures, then the pitfalls of the people will be eliminated.
The ten thousand things are but one facet of the Way. A single thing is but one facet of the ten thousand things. Those who are foolish take a single facet of a single thing and think themselves to know the Way-this is to be without knowledge. Shenzi saw the value of hanging back, but did not see the value of being in the lead.33 Laozi saw the value of yielding, but did not see the value of exerting oneself. Mozi saw the value of making things uniform, but did not see the value of establishing differences. Songzi saw the value of having few desires, but did not see the value of having many desires. If there is only hanging back and no being in the lead, then the ma.s.ses will have no gateway to advancing. If there is only yielding and no exerting oneself, then the n.o.ble and the lowly will not be distinguished. If there is only uniformity and no difference, then governmental orders cannot be promulgated. If there are only few desires and not many desires, then the ma.s.ses cannot be transformed. The History says, "Do not innovate in your fondnesses; follow the Way of the kings. Do not innovate in your aversions; follow the road of the kings."34 This expresses my meaning. . . .
Chapter Nineteen: Discourse on Ritual.
From what did ritual arise? I say: Humans are born having desires. When they have desires but do not get the objects of their desires, then they cannot but seek some means of satisfaction. If there is no measure or limit to their seeking, then they cannot help but struggle with each other. If they struggle with each other then there will be chaos, and if there is chaos then they will be impoverished. The former kings hated such chaos, and so they established rituals and the standards of righteousness in order to allot things to people, to nurture their desires, and to satisfy their seeking. They caused desires never to exhaust material goods, and material goods never to be depleted by desires, so that the two support each other and prosper. This is how ritual arose.35 Thus, ritual is a means of nurture. Meats and grains, the five flavors and the various spices are means to nurture the mouth. Fragrances and perfumes are means to nurture the nose. Carving and inlay, insignias and patterns are means to nurture the eyes. Bells and drums, pipes and chimes, lutes and zithers are means to nurture the ears. Homes and palaces, cushions and beds, tables and mats are means to nurture the body. Thus, ritual is a means of nurture. The gentleman not only obtains its nurturing, but also loves its differentiations. What is meant by "differentiations"? I say: It is for n.o.ble and lowly to have their proper ranking, for elder and youth to have their proper distance, and for poor and rich, humble and eminent each to have their proper weights. And so, in the Grand Chariot of the Emperor there are cushions, as a means to nurture his body. On the sides are carried sweet-smelling angelica, as a means to nurture his nose. In front there is a patterned yoke, as a means to nurture his eyes. The sounds of the attached bells match the tunes Wu and Xiang36 when proceeding slowly, and they match the tunes Shao and Hu37 when proceeding quickly, as a means to nurture his ears. There is a dragon pennant with nine ta.s.sels, as means to nurture his ability to inspire trust. There are insignias of a crouching rhinoceros and kneeling tiger, serpent-decorated coverings for the horses, silk curtains, and dragon patterns on the chariot hooks, as a means to nurture his awe-inspiring authority. And so, the horses of the Grand Chariot are repeatedly given training to be obedient, and only then will they be harnessed, as a means to nurture his safety.
Know well that to abide by the proper measure even at risk of death is the means to nurture one"s life. Know well that to make expenditures is the way to nurture wealth. Know well that reverence, respect, and deference are the way to nurture safety. Know well that ritual, the standards of righteousness, good form, and proper order are the way to nurture one"s dispositions. And so, if a person has his eyes only on living, such a one is sure to die. If a person has his eyes only on benefiting himself, such a one is sure to be harmed. If a person takes comfort only in laziness and sluggishness, such a one is sure to be endangered. If a person takes pleasure only in delighting his inborn dispositions, such a one is sure to be destroyed. And so, if a person puts even one measure of effort into following ritual and the standards of righteousness, he will get back twice as much. If he puts even one measure of effort into following his nature and inborn dispositions, he will lose twice as much. And so, the Confucians are those who will cause people to gain twice as much, and the Mohists are those who will cause people to lose twice as much. This is the difference between the Confucians and the Mohists.
Ritual has three roots. Heaven and earth are the root of life. Forefathers and ancestors are the root of one"s kind. Rulers and teachers are the root of order. Without Heaven and earth, how would one live? Without forefathers and ancestors, how would one have come forth? Without rulers and teachers, how would there be order? Of these three, if even one is neglected there will be no one safe. And so, ritual serves Heaven above and earth below, it honors forefathers and ancestors, and it exalts rulers and teachers. These are the three roots of ritual. . . .