A high official from Shang paid a visit to Confucius 'You are a sage, are you
not? he inquired. 'A sage! replied Confucius. 'How could I venture to think so?
I am only a man with a wide range of learning and information.' The Minister
then asked: 'Were the Three Kings sages?
The Three Kings, in this particular passage, are probably T'ang, surnamed 'The
Completer' or 'The Successful', who founded the Shang dynasty, 1766 B.C., and
the two founders of the Chou dynasty, Wên and Wu. The word shêng, here
translated 'sage', implies a man inspired by Heaven.
'The Three Kings,' replied Confucius, 'were great in the exercise of wisdom and
courage. I do not know, however, that they were sages.' 'What of the Five
Emperors? Were they not sages?
Shao Hao, Chuan Hsü, Yao, Shun, and the Great Yü. The last-named came to the
throne in 2205 B.C.
'The Five Emperors excelled in the exercise of altruism and righteousness. I do
not know that they were sages.' 'And the Three Sovereigns: surely they were
sages?
{p. 69}
The Three Sovereigns always denote the legendary rulers Fu Hsi, Shên Nung and
the Yellow Emperor.
'The Three Sovereigns excelled in the virtues that were suited to their age. But
whether they were sages or no I really cannot say.'
'The wide learning of Confucius, the warlike prowess of T'ang and Wu, the
humility and self-abnegation of Yao, and shun, the rude simplicity of Fu Hsi and
Shên Nung, simply represent the ordinary activities of the sage who
accommodates himself to the necessities of the world he lives in. They are not
the qualities which make them sages. Those qualities are truly such as neither
word nor deed can adequately express.
Why, who is there, then,' cried the Minister, much astonished, 'that is really a
sage?' The expression of Confucius' countenance changed, and he replied after a
pause: 'Among the people of the West a true sage dwells. He governs not, yet
there is no disorder. He speaks not, yet he is naturally trusted. He makes no
reforms, yet right conduct is spontaneous and universal. So great and
incomprehensible is he that the people can find no name to call him by. I
suspect that this man is a sage, but whether in truth he is a sage or is not a
sage I do not know.'
The early Jesuit missionaries saw in the above an allusion to Jesus Christ. But
(apart from other considerations) it is almost certain that the present work had
taken definite shape
{p. 69}
before the Christian era. On the other hand, it is quite possible that the Sage
whom Lieh Tzu had in mind was Sâkyamuni Buddha.
The Minister from Shang meditated awhile in silence. Then he said to himself: 'Confucius
is making a fool of me!'
When the Master Lieh Tzu took up his abode in Nan-kuo the number of those who
settled down with him was past reckoning, though one were to count them day by
day. Lieh Tzu, however, continued to live in retirement, and every morning would
hold discussions with them, the fame of which spread far and wide.
Nan-kuo Tzu was his next-door neighbour, but for twenty years no visit passed
between them, and when they met in the street they made as though they had not
seen each other.
'There was a mysterious harmony between their doctrines, and therefore they
arrived at old age without having had any mutual intercourse.' Nan-kuo Tzu means
simply 'the Philosopher of Nan-kuo'.
Lieh Tzu's disciples felt convinced that there was enmity between their Master
and Nan-kuo Tzu; and at last, one who had come from the Ch'u. State spoke to
Lieh Tzu about it, saying: 'How comes it, Sir, that you and Nan-kuo Tzu are
enemies? 'Nan-kuo Tzu,' replied
{p. 71}
the Master, 'has the appearance of fullness, but his mind is a blank.
By no means a term of disparagement, in the mouth of a Taoist.
His ears do not hear, his eyes do not see, his mouth does not speak, his mind is
devoid of knowledge, his body free from agitation. What would be the object of
visiting him? However, we will try, and you shall accompany me thither to see.'
Accordingly, forty of the disciples went with him to call on Nan-kuo Tzu, who
turned out to be a repulsive-looking creature with whom they could make no
contact.
Taoist writers seem to delight in attributing ugliness and deformity to their
sages, no doubt as a sort of foil or set-off to their inward grandeur.
He only gazed blankly at Lieh Tzu. Mind and body seemed not to belong together,
and his guests could find no means of approach.
'The soul had subjugated the body. The mind being void of sense-impressions, the
countenance remained motionless. Hence it seemed as if there were no
co-operation between the two. How could they respond to external stimuli?'
Suddenly, Nan-kuo Tzu singled out the hindermost row of Lieh Tzu's disciples,
and began to talk to them quite pleasantly and simply, though in the tone of a
superior.
{p. 72}
'Fraternizing with the hindmost row, he recognized no distinctions of rank or
standing; meeting a sympathetic influence, and responding thereto, he did not
allow his mind to be occupied with the external.'
The disciples were astonished at this, and when they got home again, all wore a
puzzled expression. Their Master Lieh Tzu said to them: 'He who has reached the
stage of thought is silent. He who has attained to perfect knowledge is also
silent. He who uses silence in lieu of speech really does speak. He who for
knowledge substitutes blankness of mind really does know. Without words and
speaking not, without knowledge and knowing not, he really speaks and really
knows. Saying nothing and knowing nothing, there is in reality nothing that he
does not say, nothing that he does not know. This is how the matter stands, and
there is nothing further to be said. Why are you thus astonished without cause?'
* * *
Lung Shu said to Wên Chih:
'Wên Chih lived in the time of the Six States, and acted as physician to Prince
Wei of Ch'i (378-333 B.C.]. Another account says that he was an able physician
of the Sung State in the "Spring and Autumn" period, and that he cured
Prince Wen of Ch'i by making him angry, whereupon his sickness vanished.'
'You are the master of cunning arts. I have a disease. Can you cure it, Sir? 'I
am at your service,' replied Wên Chih. {p. 73} 'But please let me know first
the symptoms of your disease.' 'I hold it no honour, said Lung Shu, 'to be
praised in my native village, nor do I consider it a disgrace to he decried in
my native State. Gain excites m me no joy, and loss no sorrow. I look upon life
in the same light as death, upon riches in the same light as poverty, upon my
fellow-men as so many swine, and upon myself as I look upon my fellow-men. I
dwell in my home as though it were a mere caravanserai, and regard my native
district with no more feeling than I would a barbarian State. Afflicted as I am
in these various ways, honours and rewards fail to rouse me, pains and penalties
to overawe me, good or bad fortune to influence me, joy or grief to move me.
Thus I am incapable of serving my sovereign, of associating with my friends and
kinsmen, of directing my wife and children, or of controlling my servants and
retainers.
'Men are controlled by external influences in so far as their minds are open to
impressions of good and evil, and their bodies are sensitive to injury or the
reverse. But one who is able to discern a connecting unity in the most multiform
diversity will surely, in his survey of the universe, be unconscious of the
differences between positive and negative.'
What disease is this, and what remedy is there that will cure it?'
Wên Chih replied by asking Lung Shu to stand with his back to the light, while
he himself faced the light and looked at him intently. 'Ah!' said he after a
while, 'I see
{p. 74}
that a good square inch of your heart is hollow. You are within an ace of being
a true sage. Six of the orifices in your heart are open and clear, and only the
seventh is blocked up.
'It was an ancient belief that the sage had seven orifices in his heart' (the
seat of the understanding).
This, however, is doubtless due to the fact that you are mistaking for a disease
that which is really divine enlightenment. It is a case in which my shallow art
is of no avail.'
* * *
Pu-tsê, in the Cheng State, was rich in wise men, and Tung-li in men of
administrative talent. Among the vassals of Pu-tsê was a certain Po Fêng Tzu,
who happened to travel through Tung-li and had a meeting with Têng Hsi.
A noted sophist of the sixth century B.C.
The latter cast a glance at his followers, and asked them, with a smile: 'Would
you like to see me have some sport with this stranger? They understood what he
would be at, and assented. Têng Hsi then turned to Po Fêng Tzu. 'Are you
acquainted with the true theory of Sustentation? he inquired. 'To receive
sustenance from others, through inability to support oneself, places one in the
category of dogs and swine. It is man's prerogative to give sustenance to other
creatures, and to use them for
{p. 75}
his own purposes. That you and your fellows are provided with abundant food and
comfortable clothing is due to us administrators. Young and old, you herd
together, and are penned up like cattle destined for the shambles: in what
respect are you to be distinguished from dogs and swine?
Po Fêng Tzu made no reply, but one of his company, disregarding the rules of
precedence, stepped forward and said: 'Has your Excellency never heard of the
variety of craftsmen in Ch'i and Lu? Some are skilled potters and carpenters,
others are clever workers in metal and leather; there are good musicians,
trained scribes and accountants, military experts and men learned in the ritual
of ancestor-worship. All kinds of talent are there fully represented. But
without proper organization, these craftsmen cannot be usefully employed. But
those who organize them lack knowledge, those who employ them lack technical
ability, and therefore they make use of those who have both knowledge and
ability.
'Whoso possesses skill and knowledge of any particular kind is incapable of
helping his prince in the direction of affairs!
So it is really we who may be said to employ the Government administrators. What
is it, then, that you are boasting about?
Têng Hsi could think of nothing to say in reply. He glanced round at his
disciples and retreated.
{p. 76}