Lie Yukou
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
列御寇之齐,中道而反,遇伯昏瞀人。伯昏瞀人曰:“奚方而反?”
English translation
Lie Yukou was on his way to Qi, but turned back midway and met Bohun Maoren. Bohun Maoren said, 'What made you turn back?'
Original Chinese text
曰:“吾惊焉。”
English translation
He said, 'I was startled.'
Original Chinese text
曰:“恶乎惊?”
English translation
Bohun Maoren said, 'What startled you?'
Original Chinese text
曰:“吾尝食于十浆而五浆先馈。”
English translation
He said, 'I once ate at ten drink-shops, and five of them served me first.'
Original Chinese text
伯昏瞀人曰:“若是则汝何为惊已?”
English translation
Bohun Maoren said, 'If that is so, why were you startled at all?'
Original Chinese text
曰:“夫内诚不解,形谍成光,以外镇人心,使人轻乎贵老,而赍其所患。夫浆人特为食羹之货,无多余之赢,其为利也薄,其为权也轻,而犹若是,而况于万乘之主乎!
English translation
He said, 'My inner sincerity has not been dissolved, yet my outward form has taken on a radiance. With this I press upon people's hearts from without, making them take rank and age lightly, and so I draw trouble upon myself. Those drink-sellers are merely tradesmen of food and soup, with no surplus profit; their gains are thin and their power slight, yet even they acted this way—how much more would a lord of ten thousand chariots!'
Original Chinese text
身劳于国而知尽于事。彼将任我以事,而效我以功。吾是以惊。”
English translation
My body is worn out for the state, and my knowledge is exhausted in affairs. They will entrust me with tasks and test me by results. That is why I am alarmed.
Original Chinese text
伯昏瞀人曰:“善哉观乎!女处已,人将保汝矣!”
English translation
Bohun Maoren said: “Excellent, your observation! Just settle yourself where you are—people will come to rely on you!”
Original Chinese text
无几何而往,则户外之屦满矣。伯昏瞀人北面而立,敦杖蹙之乎颐。立有间,不言而出。宾者以告列子,列子提屦,跣而走,暨于门,曰:“先生既来,曾不发药乎?”
English translation
Before long he went there, and the shoes outside the door were already full. Bohun Maoren stood facing north, propping his staff against his chin. After standing a while, he went out without saying a word. The usher informed Liezi; Liezi picked up his shoes and ran barefoot, reaching the gate, and said: “Master, since you have come, can it be that you will not dispense any medicine?”
Original Chinese text
曰:“已矣,吾固告汝曰:人将保汝。果保汝矣!非汝能使人保汝,而汝不能使人无保汝也,而焉用之感豫出异也。必且有感,摇而本性,又无谓也。与汝游者,又莫汝告也。
English translation
He said: “Enough. I already told you that people would cling to you—and indeed they have. It is not that you can make people cling to you; it is that you cannot make people refrain from clinging to you. Why then use this to stir and please them and put forth your singularity? Surely something stirs them, and it shakes your original nature—that too is pointless. Those who associate with you—none of them tells you this.”
Original Chinese text
彼所小言,尽人毒也。莫觉莫悟,何相孰也。巧者劳而知者忧,无能者无所求,饱食而敖游,汎若不系之舟,虚而敖游者也!
English translation
Those petty words of theirs are all poison to people. None awaken, none understand—how can they know one another? The clever labor, the wise worry; the incapable have nothing to seek. They eat their fill and wander for pleasure, drifting like an unmoored boat—empty and roaming free!
Original Chinese text
“郑人缓也,呻吟裘氏之地。祗三年而缓为儒。河润九里,泽及三族,使其弟墨。儒墨相与辩,其父助翟。十年而缓自杀。其父梦之曰:‘使而子为墨者,予也,阖尝视其良?既为秋柏之实矣。’
English translation
A man of Zheng named Huan chanted and studied in the land of the Qiu clan. In only three years he became a Confucian. The river’s waters nourished the land for nine li, and his influence reached three clans; he made his younger brother a Mohist. Confucians and Mohists debated, and their father supported Di. Ten years later Huan killed himself. His father dreamed that Huan said: “I was the one who made your son a Mohist. Why not look upon my grave? I have already become the fruit of the autumn cypress.” Here 良 is often read as 埌, “grave”; interpretations of the passage vary.
Original Chinese text
夫造物者之报人也,不报其人而报其人之天,彼故使彼。夫人以己为有以异于人,以贱其亲。齐人之井饮者相捽也。故曰:今之世皆缓也。自是有德者以不知也,而况有道者乎!
English translation
The Creator’s recompense to a person does not repay the person but repays what is Heaven in the person; that is what makes him be as he is. Yet this man thought he had something by which to differ from others, and so made light of his own kin. The men of Qi, drinking at the well, pulled and jostled one another. Hence it is said: everyone in the present age is a Huan. From this, even one who has virtue rests in not-knowing—how much more one who has the Way!
Original Chinese text
古者谓之遁天之刑。圣人安其所安,不安其所不安;众人安其所不安,不安其所安。
English translation
The ancients called this the punishment of fleeing Heaven. The sage is at ease with what is at ease for him, and not at ease with what is not at ease for him; the multitude are at ease with what is not at ease for them, and not at ease with what is at ease for them.
Original Chinese text
“庄子曰:‘知道易,勿言难。知而不言,所以之天也。知而言之,所以之人也。古之人,天而不人。’
English translation
Zhuangzi said: ‘To know the Way is easy; not to speak of it is hard. To know it and not speak of it is the way to Heaven; to know it and speak of it is the way to man. The people of ancient times were Heavenly and not human.’
Original Chinese text
朱泙漫学屠龙于支离益,单千金之家,三年技成而无所用其巧。圣人以必不必,故无兵;众人以不必必之,故多兵。顺于兵,故行有求。兵,恃之则亡。
English translation
Zhu Pingman learned dragon-slaying from Zhili Yi. He exhausted a household fortune of a thousand pieces of gold; after three years his skill was complete, but he had nowhere to use his craft. The sage treats what is certain as not necessarily so, and therefore has no arms; the multitude treat what is not necessarily so as certain, and therefore have many arms. Following arms, therefore, action has something it seeks. Arms—rely on them and you perish.
Original Chinese text
小夫之知,不离苞苴竿牍,敝精神乎蹇浅,而欲兼济道物,太一形虚。若是者,迷惑于宇宙,形累不知太初。彼至人者,归精神乎无始,而甘冥乎无何有之乡。水流乎无形,发泄乎太清。
English translation
The knowledge of the petty man never departs from gift baskets and letter slips; he wears out his spirit on cramped and shallow affairs, and yet wishes to save both the Way and things, to embody the Great One and empty his bodily form. Such a one is deluded within the cosmos; burdened by form, he does not know the Great Beginning. The Consummate Person returns his spirit to the Beginningless and gladly sinks into the land of Nothing-Whatsoever. Water flows in formlessness and pours forth into the Great Clarity.
Original Chinese text
悲哉乎!汝为知在毫毛而不知大宁。”
English translation
How sad! You think knowledge lies in a hair’s breadth, yet you do not know the Great Tranquility.
Original Chinese text
宋人有曹商者,为宋王使秦。其往也,得车数乘。王说之,益车百乘。反于宋,见庄子,曰:“夫处穷闾阨巷,困窘织屦,槁项黄馘者,商之所短也;一悟万乘之主而从车百乘者,商之所长也。”
English translation
There was a man of Song named Cao Shang, who was sent by the king of Song as an envoy to Qin. When he set out, he received several carriages. The king of Qin was pleased with him and added a hundred more. Returning to Song, he visited Zhuangzi and said: “Living in a poor hamlet and narrow lane, hard pressed and weaving sandals, with a withered neck and a sallow face—that is what I, Shang, am poor at. But to rouse a ruler of ten thousand chariots at a stroke and return with a hundred carriages following me—that is what I do well.”
Original Chinese text
庄子曰:“秦王有病召医。破痈溃痤者得车一乘,舐痔者得车五乘,所治愈下,得车愈多。子岂治其痔邪?何得车之多也?子行矣!”
English translation
Zhuangzi said: “When the king of Qin is ill, he summons physicians. One who lances a boil or breaks an abscess gets one carriage; one who licks hemorrhoids gets five carriages. The lower the ailment treated, the more carriages one gets. Could it be that you treated his hemorrhoids? How is it that you got so many carriages? Go on your way!”
Original Chinese text
鲁哀公问乎颜阖曰:“吾以仲尼为贞干,国其有瘳乎?”
English translation
Duke Ai of Lu asked Yan He: “If I make Zhongni the state’s mainstay, might the state perhaps recover?”
Original Chinese text
曰:“殆哉圾乎!仲尼方且饰羽而画,从事华辞。以支为旨,忍性以视民,而不知不信。受乎心,宰乎神,夫何足以上民!彼宜女与予颐与,误而可矣!今使民离实学伪,非所以视民也。
English translation
Yan He said: “How perilous! Zhongni is busy adorning feathers and painting, devoting himself to ornate words. He takes a branch for the main point, makes a display before the people by suppressing his nature, and does not know that he is not trusted. These ornate words enter the heart and come to govern the spirit—how could that qualify him to stand above the people? Is he suited to you? Even if this judgment is mistaken, perhaps it may be acceptable. To make the people leave what is real and learn what is false is no way of demonstrating before the people.” (The phrase 予颐与 is obscure; commentators have suspected faulty punctuation or textual corruption.)
Original Chinese text
为后世虑,不若休之。难治也!”
English translation
If you plan for later generations, it is better to stop it. It will be hard to govern.”
Original Chinese text
施于人而不忘,非天布也,商贾不齿。虽以事齿之,神者弗齿。为外刑者,金与木也;为内刑者,动与过也。宵人之离外刑者,金木讯之;离内刑者,阴阳食之。
English translation
To bestow benefits on others and not forget it is not the distribution of Heaven; merchants do not count it worthy. Even if people count it because of some deed, the spiritual person does not count it. What serves as external punishment is metal and wood; what serves as internal punishment is agitation and transgression. When a petty person incurs external punishment, metal and wood interrogate him; when he incurs internal punishment, yin and yang consume him.
Original Chinese text
夫免乎外内之刑者,唯真人能之。
English translation
Only the True Man can escape the punishments that come from without and from within.
Original Chinese text
孔子曰:“凡人心险于山川,难于知天。天犹有春秋冬夏旦暮之期,人者厚貌深情。故有貌愿而益,有长若不肖,有顺懁而达,有坚而缦,有缓而悍。故其就义若渴者,其去义若热。
English translation
Confucius said: 'In all cases the human heart is more dangerous than mountains and rivers, and harder to know than Heaven. Heaven still has its fixed seasons—spring, autumn, winter, summer, morning and evening—but humans have a thick outward appearance and deep-seated feelings. Thus some are outwardly modest yet inwardly arrogant; some have strong points yet appear unworthy; some are compliant and quick-tempered yet perceptive; some are firm yet slack; some are slow yet fierce. Therefore, those who rush toward righteousness as if thirsting for it will flee from it as if from heat.'
Original Chinese text
故君子远使之而观其忠,近使之而观其敬,烦使之而观其能,卒然问焉而观其知,急与之期而观其信,委之以财而观其仁,告之以危而观其节,醉之以酒而观其侧,杂之以处而观其色。
English translation
Therefore the noble man sends him far away and observes his loyalty; keeps him near and observes his respect; employs him on many errands and observes his ability; questions him suddenly and observes his wisdom; sets him an urgent deadline and observes his trustworthiness; entrusts him with wealth and observes his benevolence; tells him of danger and observes his integrity; makes him drunk with wine and observes his deportment; places him in mixed company and observes his countenance.
Original Chinese text
九徵至,不肖人得矣。”
English translation
When the nine tests have all been applied, the unworthy person is caught.
Original Chinese text
正考父一命而伛,再命而偻,三命而俯,循墙而走,孰敢不轨!如而夫者,一命而吕钜,再命而于车上舞,三命而名诸父。孰协唐许?
English translation
Zheng Kaofu bent low on his first appointment, stooped on his second, and bowed down on his third, walking along the wall—who would dare act improperly? But men of that sort: on the first appointment they swagger; on the second they dance on the carriage; on the third they call their uncles by name. Who can compare with Tang Yao and Xu You?
Original Chinese text
贼莫大乎德有心而心有睫,及其有睫也而内视,内视而败矣!凶德有五,中德为首。何谓中德?中德也者,有以自好也而吡其所不为者也。穷有八极,达有三必,形有六府。
English translation
There is no greater harm than virtue having a mind, and the mind having eyelashes; once it has eyelashes and looks inward, looking inward ruins it! Baleful virtues are five, and the middle virtue is first. What is the middle virtue? The middle virtue is to have something by which one approves oneself and to censure what one does not do. Exhaustion has eight poles, success has three certainties, and the body has six storehouses.
Original Chinese text
美、髯、长、大、壮、丽、勇、敢,八者俱过人也,因以是穷;缘循、偃佒、困畏,不若人三者俱通达;知慧外通,勇动多怨,仁义多责,六者所以相刑也。
English translation
Being handsome, having a fine beard, being tall, large, strong, beautiful, brave, and daring—these eight all surpass others, and for that very reason one is trapped. Being compliant and accommodating, bowing and yielding, constrained and fearful—these three ways of being inferior to others all make their way through. Wisdom and cleverness reaching outward, courage and action bringing much resentment, benevolence and righteousness bringing much blame—these six are what punish one another.
Original Chinese text
达生之性者傀,达于知者肖,达大命者随,达小命者遭。
English translation
One who comprehends the nature of life is great; one who comprehends knowledge is small. One who comprehends the great decree follows it; one who comprehends the small decree encounters it.
Original Chinese text
人有见宋王者,锡车十乘。以其十乘骄稚庄子。庄子曰:“河上有家贫恃纬萧而食者,其子没于渊,得千金之珠。其父谓其子曰:‘取石来锻之!夫千金之珠,必在九重之渊而骊龙颔下。
English translation
A man had an audience with the king of Song and was granted ten carriages. He used them to flaunt his status before Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi said: “By the river lived a poor family who made their living weaving mugwort stalks into mats. Their son dived into a deep pool and found a pearl worth a thousand pieces of gold. His father said to him: ‘Bring a stone and smash it! A pearl worth a thousand gold must lie beneath the chin of the black dragon in the ninefold abyss.
Original Chinese text
子能得珠者,必遭其睡也。使骊龙而寤,子尚奚微之有哉!’
English translation
‘That you were able to get the pearl must have been because you happened upon its sleep. If the black dragon had awakened, what tiny bit of you would be left?’
Original Chinese text
今宋国之深,非直九重之渊也;宋王之猛,非直骊龙也。子能得车者,必遭其睡也;使宋王而寤,子为齑粉夫。”
English translation
Now the depth of Song is not merely a ninefold abyss; the fierceness of the king of Song is not merely that of a black dragon. That you got the carriages must have been because you happened upon his sleep. If the king of Song were to awaken, you would be reduced to powder.’
Original Chinese text
或聘于庄子,庄子应其使曰:“子见夫牺牛乎?衣以文绣,食以刍叔。及其牵而入于大庙,虽欲为孤犊,其可得乎!”
English translation
Someone came to offer Zhuangzi a post. Zhuangzi answered the envoy: ‘Have you seen the sacrificial ox? They dress it in embroidered brocade and feed it hay and beans. When it is led into the great ancestral temple, even if it wished to be a lone calf, could it possibly do so?’
Original Chinese text
庄子将死,弟子欲厚葬之。庄子曰:“吾以天地为棺椁,以日月为连璧,星辰为珠玑,万物为齎送。吾葬具岂不备邪?何以加此!”
English translation
Zhuangzi was nearing death, and his disciples wanted to give him a lavish burial. He said: “I take Heaven and Earth as my coffin and outer coffin, the sun and moon as paired jade discs, the stars as pearls and small beads, and the myriad things as funeral offerings. Are my burial furnishings not complete? What could be added to them?”
Original Chinese text
弟子曰:“吾恐乌鸢之食夫子也。”
English translation
The disciples said: 'We fear that crows and kites will eat you, Master.'
Original Chinese text
庄子曰:“在上为乌鸢食,在下为蝼蚁食,夺彼与此,何其偏也。”
English translation
Zhuangzi said: 'Above ground I would be eaten by crows and kites; below ground I would be eaten by mole crickets and ants. To take from those and give to these—how partial that is!'
Original Chinese text
以不平平,其平也不平;以不徵徵,其徵也不徵。明者唯为之使,神者徵之。夫明之不胜神也久矣,而愚者恃其所见入于人,其功外也,不亦悲夫!
English translation
To level by means of the unlevel, that leveling is itself unlevel; to verify by means of the unverified, that verification is itself unverified. The clear-sighted are merely made its servants; the spiritlike verifies it. That the clear-sighted cannot match the spiritlike has long been so. Yet fools rely on what they see and impose it on others; their achievement is external. Is this not sad!