Chapter 14: 天運

天其運乎？地其處乎？日月其爭於所乎？孰主張是？孰維綱是？孰居無事推而行是？意者其有機緘而不得已邪？意者其運轉而不能自止邪？雲者為雨乎？雨者為雲乎？孰隆施是？孰居無事淫樂而勸是？風起北方，一西一東，有上彷徨，孰噓吸是？孰居無事而披拂是？敢問何故？巫咸袑曰：「來！吾語女。天有六極五常，帝王順之則治，逆之則凶。九洛之事，治成德備，監照下土，天下戴之，此謂上皇。」

How (ceaselessly) heaven revolves! How (constantly) earth abides at rest! And do the sun and moon contend about their (respective) places? Who presides over and directs these (things)? Who binds and connects them together? Who is it that, without trouble or exertion on his part, causes and maintains them? Is it, perhaps, that there is some secret spring, in consequence of which they cannot be but as they are? Or is it, perhaps, that they move and turn as they do, and cannot stop of themselves? (Then) how the clouds become rain! And how the rain again forms the clouds! Who diffuses them so abundantly? Who is it that, without trouble or exertion on his part, produces this elemental enjoyment, and seems to stimulate it? The winds rise in the north; one blows to the west, and another to the east; while some rise upwards, uncertain in their direction. By whose breathing are they produced? Who is it that, without any trouble and exertion of his own, effects all their undulations? I venture to ask their cause.

Wu-xian Shao said, 'Come, and I will tell you. To heaven there belong the six Extreme Points, and the five Elements. When the Dis and Kings acted in accordance with them, there was good government; when they acted contrary to them, there was evil. Observing the things (described) in the nine divisions (of the writing) of Luo, their government was perfected and their virtue was complete. They inspected and enlightened the kingdom beneath them, and all under the sky acknowledged and sustained them. Such was the condition under the august (sovereigns) and those before them.'

商太宰蕩問仁於莊子。莊子曰：「虎狼，仁也。」曰：「何謂也？」莊子曰：「父子相親，何為不仁？」曰：「請問至仁。」莊子曰：「至仁無親。」太宰曰：「蕩聞之：無親則不愛，不愛則不孝。謂至仁不孝，可乎？」莊子曰：「不然。夫至仁尚矣，孝固不足以言之。此非過孝之言也，不及孝之言也。夫南行者至於郢，北面而不見冥山，是何也？則去之遠也。故曰：以敬孝易，以愛孝難；以愛孝易，以忘親難；忘親易，使親忘我難；使親忘我易，兼忘天下難；兼忘天下易，使天下兼忘我難。夫德遺堯、舜而不為也，利澤施於萬世，天下莫知也，豈直太息而言仁孝乎哉！夫孝悌仁義，忠信貞廉，此皆自勉以役其德者也，不足多也。故曰：至貴，國爵并焉；至富，國財并焉；至願，名譽并焉。是以道不渝。」

Tang, the chief administrator of Shang, asked Zhuangzi about Benevolence, and the answer was, 'Wolves and tigers are benevolent.' 'What do you mean?' said Tang. Zhuangzi replied, 'Father and son (among them) are affectionate to one another. Why should they be considered as not benevolent?' 'Allow me to ask about perfect benevolence,' pursued the other. Zhuangzi said, 'Perfect benevolence does not admit (the feeling) of affection.' The minister said, 'I have heard that, without (the feeling of) affection there is no love, and without love there is not filial duty - is it permissible to say that the perfectly benevolent are not filial?' Zhuangzi rejoined, 'That is not the way to put the case. Perfect Benevolence is the very highest thing - filial duty is by no means sufficient to describe it. The saying which you quote is not to the effect that (such benevolence) transcends filial duty - it does not refer to such duty at all. One, travelling to the south, comes (at last) to Ying, and there, standing with his face to the north, he does not see mount Ming. Why does he not see it? Because he is so far from it. Hence it is said, "Filial duty as a part of reverence is easy, but filial duty as a part of love is difficult. If it be easy as a part of love, yet it is difficult to forget one's parents. It may be easy for me to forget my parents, but it is difficult to make my parents forget me. If it were easy to make my parents forget me, it is difficult for me to forget all men in the world. If it were easy to forget all men in the world, it is difficult to make them all forget me."

'This virtue might make one think light of Yao and Shun, and not wish to be they. The profit and beneficial influences of it extend to a myriad ages, and no one in the world knows whence they come. How can you simply heave a great sigh, and speak (as you do) of benevolence and filial duty? Filial duty, fraternal respect, benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, sincerity, firmness, and purity - all these may be pressed into the service of this virtue, but they are far from sufficient to come up to it. Therefore it is said, "To him who has what is most noble, all the dignities of a state are as nothing; to him who has what is the greatest riches, all the wealth of a state is as nothing; to him who has all that he could wish, fame and praise are as nothing." It is thus that the Dao admits of no substitute.'

北門成問於黃帝曰：帝張咸池之樂於洞庭之野，吾始聞之懼，復聞之怠，卒聞之而惑，蕩蕩默默，乃不自得。」

Bei-men Cheng asked Huang-Di, saying, 'You were celebrating, O Di, a performance of the music of the Xian-chi, in the open country near the Dong-ting lake. When I heard the first part of it, I was afraid; the next made me weary; and the last perplexed me. I became agitated and unable to speak, and lost my self-possession.'

帝曰：「女殆其然哉！吾奏之以人，徵之以天，行之以禮義，建之以太清。夫至樂者，先應之以人事，順之以天理，行之以五德，應之以自然，然後調理四時，太和萬物。四時迭起，萬物循生；一盛一衰，文武倫經；一清一濁，陰陽調和，流光其聲；蟄蟲始作，吾驚之以雷霆；其卒無尾，其始無首；一死一生，一僨一起；所常無窮，而一不可待。女故懼也。

The Di said, 'It was likely that it should so affect you! It was performed with (the instruments of) men, and all attuned according to (the influences of) Heaven. It proceeded according to (the principles of) propriety and righteousness, and was pervaded by (the idea of) the Grand Purity. The Perfect Music first had its response in the affairs of men, and was conformed to the principles of Heaven; it indicated the action of the five virtues, and corresponded to the spontaneity (apparent in nature). After this it showed the blended distinctions of the four seasons, and the grand harmony of all things - the succession of those seasons one after another, and the production of things in their proper order. Now it swelled, and now it died away, its peaceful and military strains clearly distinguished and given forth. Now it was clear, and now rough, as if the contracting and expanding of the elemental processes blended harmoniously (in its notes). Those notes then flowed away in waves of light, till, as when the hibernating insects first begin to move, I commanded the terrifying crash of thunder. Its end was marked by no formal conclusion, and it began again without any prelude. It seemed to die away, and then it burst into life; it came to a close, and then it rose again. So it went on regularly and inexhaustibly, and without the intervention of any pause: it was this which made you afraid.

吾又奏之以陰陽之和，燭之以日月之明；其聲能短能長，能柔能剛；變化齊一，不主故常；在谷滿谷，在阬滿阬；塗郤守神，以物為量。其聲揮綽，其名高明。是故鬼神守其幽，日月星辰行其紀。吾止之於有窮，流之於無止。予欲慮之而不能知也，望之而不能見也，逐之而不能及也，儻然立於四虛之道，倚於槁梧而吟。目知窮乎所欲見，力屈乎所欲逐，吾既不及已夫！形充空虛，乃至委蛇。汝委蛇，故怠。

'In the second part (of the performance), I made it describe the harmony of the Yin and Yang, and threw round it the brilliance of the sun and moon. Its notes were now short and now long, now soft and now hard. Their changes, however, were marked by an unbroken unity, though not dominated by a fixed regularity. They filled every valley and ravine; you might shut up every crevice, and guard your spirit (against their entrance), yet there was nothing but gave admission to them. Yea, those notes resounded slowly, and might have been pronounced high and clear. Hence the shades of the dead kept in their obscurity; the sun and moon, and all the stars of the zodiac, pursued their several courses. I made (my instruments) leave off, when (the performance) came to an end, and their (echoes) flowed on without stopping. You thought anxiously about it, and were not able to understand it; you looked for it, and were not able to see it; you pursued it, and were not able to reach it. All-amazed, you stood in the way all open around you, and then you leant against an old rotten dryandra-tree and hummed. The power of your eyes was exhausted by what you wished to see; your strength failed in your desire to pursue it, while I myself could not reach it. Your body was but so much empty vacancy while you endeavoured to retain your self-possession: it was that endeavour which made you weary.

吾又奏之以無怠之聲，調之以自然之命，故若混逐叢生，林樂而無形；布揮而不曳，幽昏而無聲。動於無方，居於窈冥；或謂之死，或謂之生；或謂之實，或謂之榮；行流散徙，不主常聲。世疑之，稽於聖人。聖也者，達於情而遂於命也。天機不張而五官皆備，此之謂天樂，無言而心說。故有焱氏為之頌曰：『聽之不聞其聲，視之不見其形，充滿天地，苞裏六極。』汝欲聽之而無接焉，而故惑也。

'In the last part (of the performance), I employed notes which did not have that wearying effect. I blended them together as at the command of spontaneity. Hence they came as if following one another in confusion, like a clump of plants springing from one root, or like the music of a forest produced by no visible form. They spread themselves all around without leaving a trace (of their cause); and seemed to issue from deep obscurity where there was no sound. Their movements came from nowhere; their home was in the deep darkness - conditions which some would call death, and some would call life; some would call the fruit, and some would call (merely) the flower. Those notes, moving and flowing on, separating and shifting, and not following any regular sounds, the world might well have doubts about them, and refer them to the judgment of a sage, for the sages understand the nature of this music, and judge in accordance with the prescribed (spontaneity). While the spring of that spontaneity has not been touched, and yet the regulators of the five notes are all prepared - this is what is called the music of Heaven, delighting the mind without the use of words. Hence it is said in the eulogy of the Lord of Yan, "You listen for it, and do not hear its sound; you look for it, and do not perceive its form; it fills heaven and earth; it envelopes all within the universe." You wished to hear it, but could not take it in; and therefore you were perplexed.

樂也者，始於懼，懼故祟；吾又次之以怠，怠故遁；卒之於惑，惑故愚；愚故道，道可載而與之俱也。」

'I performed first the music calculated to awe; and you were frightened as if by a ghostly visitation. I followed it with that calculated to weary; and in your weariness you would have withdrawn. I concluded with that calculated to perplex; and in your perplexity you felt your stupidity. But that stupidity is akin to the Dao; you may with it convey the Dao in your person, and have it (ever) with you.'

孔子西遊於衛。顏淵問師金，曰：「以夫子之行為奚如？」師金曰：「惜乎，而夫子其窮哉！」顏淵曰：「何也？」師金曰：「夫芻狗之未陳也，盛以篋衍，巾以文繡，尸祝齊戒以將之；及其已陳也，行者踐其首脊，蘇者取而爨之而已。將復取而盛以篋衍，巾以文繡，遊居寢臥其下，彼不得夢，必且數眯焉。今而夫子，亦取先王已陳芻狗，聚弟子游居寢臥其下。故伐樹於宋，削跡於衛，窮於商、周，是非其夢邪？圍於陳、蔡之間，七日不火食，死生相與鄰，是非其眯邪？

When Confucius was travelling in the west in Wei, Yan Yuan asked the music-master Jin, saying, 'How is it, do you think, with the course of the Master?' The music-master replied, 'Alas! it is all over with your Master!' 'How so?' asked Yan Yuan; and the other said, 'Before the grass-dogs are set forth (at the sacrifice), they are deposited in a box or basket, and wrapt up with elegantly embroidered cloths, while the representative of the dead and the officer of prayer prepare themselves by fasting to present them. After they have been set forth, however, passers-by trample on their heads and backs, and the grass-cutters take and burn them in cooking. That is all they are good for. If one should again take them, replace them in the box or basket, wrap them up with embroidered cloths, and then in rambling, or abiding at the spot, should go to sleep under them, if he do not get (evil) dreams, he is sure to be often troubled with the nightmare. Now here is your Master in the same way taking the grass-dogs, presented by the ancient kings, and leading his disciples to wander or abide and sleep under them. Owing to this, the tree (beneath which they were practising ceremonies) in Sung was cut down; he was obliged to leave Wei; he was reduced to extremities in Shang and Zhou: were not those experiences like having (evil) dreams? He was kept in a state of siege between Chen and Cai, so that for seven days he had no cooked food to eat, and was in a situation between life and death: were not those experiences like the nightmare?

夫水行莫如用舟，而陸行莫如用車。以舟之可行於水也而求推之於陸，則沒世不行尋常。古今非水陸與？周、魯非舟車與？今蘄行周於魯，是猶推舟於陸也，勞而無功，身必有殃。彼未知夫無方之傳，應物而不窮者也。

'If you are travelling by water, your best plan is to use a boat; if by land, a carriage. Take a boat, which will go (easily) along on the water, and try to push it along on the land, and all your lifetime it will not go so much as a fathom or two: are not ancient time and the present time like the water and the dry land? and are not Zhou and Lu like the boat and the carriage? To seek now to practise (the old ways of) Zhou in Lu is like pushing along a boat on the dry land. It is only a toilsome labour, and has no success; he who does so is sure to meet with calamity. He has not learned that in handing down the arts (of one time) he is sure to be reduced to extremity in endeavouring to adapt them to the conditions (of another).

且子獨不見夫桔槔者乎？引之則俯，舍之則仰。彼，人之所引，非引人也，故俯仰而不得罪於人。故夫三皇、五帝之禮義法度，不矜於同而矜於治。故譬三皇、五帝之禮義法度，其猶柤梨橘柚邪！其味相反，而皆可於口。

'And have you not seen the working of a shadoof? When (the rope of) it is pulled, it bends down; and when it is let go, it rises up. It is pulled by a man, and does not pull the man; and so, whether it bends down or rises up, it commits no offence against the man. In the same way the rules of propriety, righteousness, laws, and measures of the three Huangs and five Dis derived their excellence, not from their being the same as those of the present day, but from their (aptitude for) government. We may compare them to haws, pears, oranges, and pummeloes, which are different in flavour, but all suitable to be eaten.

故禮義法度者，應時而變者也。今取猨狙而衣以周公之服，彼必齕齧挽裂，盡去而後慊。觀古今之異，猶猨狙之異乎周公也。故西施病心而矉其里，其里之醜人見而美之，歸亦捧心而矉其里。其里之富人見之，堅閉門而不出；貧人見之，挈妻子而去之走。彼知矉美而不知矉之所以美。惜乎！而夫子其窮哉！」

'Just so it is that the rules of propriety, righteousness, laws, and measures, change according to the time. If now you take a monkey, and dress it in the robes of the duke of Zhou, it will bite and tear them, and will not be satisfied till it has got rid of them altogether. And if you look at the difference between antiquity and the present time it is as great as that between the monkey and the duke of Zhou. In the same way, when Xi Shi was troubled in mind, she would knit her brows and frown on all in her neighbourhood. An ugly woman of the neighbourhood, seeing and admiring her beauty, went home, and also laying her hands on her heart proceeded to stare and frown on all around her. When the rich people of the village saw her, they shut fast their doors and would not go out; when the poor people saw her, they took their wives and children and ran away from her. The woman knew how to admire the frowning beauty, but she did not know how it was that she, though frowning, was beautiful. Alas! it is indeed all over with your Master!'

孔子行年五十有一而不聞道，乃南之沛，見老聃。老聃曰：「子來乎？吾聞子北方之賢者也，子亦得道乎？」孔子曰：「未得也。」老子曰：「子惡乎求之哉？」曰：「吾求之於度數，五年而未得也。」老子曰：「子又惡乎求之哉？」曰：「吾求之於陰陽，十有二年而未得。」

When Confucius was in his fifty-first year, he had not heard of the Dao, and went south to Pei to see Lao Dan, who said to him, 'You have come, Sir; have you? I have heard that you are the wisest man of the North; have you also got the Dao?' 'Not yet,' was the reply; and the other went on, 'How have you sought it?' Confucius said, 'I sought it in measures and numbers, and after five years I had not got it.' 'And how then did you seek it?' 'I sought it in the Yin and Yang, and after twelve years I have not found it.'

老子曰：「然。使道而可獻，則人莫不獻之於其君；使道而可進，則人莫不進之於其親；使道而可以告人，則人莫不告其兄弟；使道而可以與人，則人莫不與其子孫。然而不可者，無佗也，中無主而不止，外無正而不行。由中出者，不受於外，聖人不出；由外入者，無主於中，聖人不隱。名，公器也，不可多取。仁義，先王之蘧廬也，止可以一宿而不可以久處，覯而多責。古之至人，假道於仁，託宿於義，以遊逍遙之虛，食於苟簡之田，立於不貸之圃。逍遙，無為也；苟簡，易養也；不貸，無出也。古者謂是采真之遊。

Laozi said, 'Just so! If the Dao could be presented (to another), men would all present it to their rulers; if it could be served up (to others), men would all serve it up to their parents; if it could be told (to others), men would all tell it to their brothers; if it could be given to others, men would all give it to their sons and grandsons. The reason why it cannot be transmitted is no other but this - that if, within, there be not the presiding principle, it will not remain there, and if, outwardly, there be not the correct obedience, it will not be carried out. When that which is given out from the mind (in possession of it) is not received by the mind without, the sage will not give it out; and when, entering in from without, there is no power in the receiving mind to entertain it, the sage will not permit it to lie hid there. Fame is a possession common to all; we should not seek to have much of it. Benevolence and righteousness were as the lodging-houses of the former kings; we should only rest in them for a night, and not occupy them for long. If men see us doing so, they will have much to say against us. The perfect men of old trod the path of benevolence as a path which they borrowed for the occasion, and dwelt in Righteousness as in a lodging which they used for a night. Thus they rambled in the vacancy of Untroubled Ease, found their food in the fields of Indifference, and stood in the gardens which they had not borrowed. Untroubled Ease requires the doing of nothing; Indifference is easily supplied with nourishment; not borrowing needs no outlay. The ancients called this the Enjoyment that Collects the True.

以富為是者，不能讓祿；以顯為是者，不能讓名；親權者，不能與人柄。操之則慄，舍之則悲，而一無所鑒，以闚其所不休者，是天之戮民也。怨、恩、取、與、諫、教、生、殺，八者，正之器也，唯循大變無所湮者，為能用之。故曰：正者，正也。其心以為不然者，天門弗開矣。」

'Those who think that wealth is the proper thing for them cannot give up their revenues; those who seek distinction cannot give up the thought of fame; those who cleave to power cannot give the handle of it to others. While they hold their grasp of those things, they are afraid (of losing them). When they let them go, they are grieved; and they will not look at a single example, from which they might perceive the (folly) of their restless pursuits: such men are under the doom of Heaven. Hatred and kindness; taking and giving; reproof and instruction; death and life: these eight things are instruments of rectification, but only those are able to use them who do not obstinately refuse to comply with their great changes. Hence it is said, "Correction is Rectification." When the minds of some do not acknowledge this, it is because the gate of Heaven (in them) has not been opened.'

孔子見老聃而語仁義。老聃曰：「夫播穅眯目，則天地四方易位矣；蚊虻噆膚，則通昔不寐矣。夫仁義憯然，乃憤吾心，亂莫大焉。吾子使天下無失其朴，吾子亦放風而動，總德而立矣，又奚傑然若負建鼓而求亡子者邪？夫鵠不日浴而白，烏不日黔而黑。黑白之朴，不足以為辯；名譽之觀，不足以為廣。泉涸，魚相與處於陸，相呴以溼，相濡以沫，不若相忘於江湖。」

At an interview with Lao Dan, Confucius spoke to him of benevolence and righteousness. Lao Dan said, 'If you winnow chaff, and the dust gets into your eyes, then the places of heaven and earth and of the four cardinal points are all changed to you. If musquitoes or gadflies puncture your skin, it will keep you all the night from sleeping. But this painful iteration of benevolence and righteousness excites my mind and produces in it the greatest confusion. If you, Sir, would cause men not to lose their natural simplicity, and if you would also imitate the wind in its (unconstrained) movements, and stand forth in all the natural attributes belonging to you!-- why must you use so much energy, and carry a great drum to seek for the son whom you have lost? The snow-goose does not bathe every day to make itself white, nor the crow blacken itself every day to make itself black. The natural simplicity of their black and white does not afford any ground for controversy; and the fame and praise which men like to contemplate do not make them greater than they naturally are. When the springs (supplying the pools) are dried up, the fishes huddle together on the dry land. Than that they should moisten one another there by their gasping, and keep one another wet by their milt, it would be better for them to forget one another in the rivers and lakes.'

孔子見老聃歸，三日不談。弟子問曰：「夫子見老聃，亦將何歸哉？」孔子曰：「吾乃今於是乎見龍。龍合而成體，散而成章，乘乎雲氣而養乎陰陽。予口張而不能嗋，予又何規老聃哉！」子貢曰：「然則人固有尸居而龍見，雷聲而淵默，發動如天地者乎？賜亦可得而觀乎？」遂以孔子聲見老聃。

From this interview with Lao Dan, Confucius returned home, and for three days did not speak. His disciples (then) asked him, saying, 'Master, you have seen Lao Dan; in what way might you admonish and correct him?' Confucius said, 'In him (I may say) that I have now seen the dragon. The dragon coils itself up, and there is its body; it unfolds itself and becomes the dragon complete. It rides on the cloudy air, and is nourished by the Yin and Yang. I kept my mouth open, and was unable to shut it - how could I admonish and correct Lao Dan?' Zi-gong said, 'So then, can (this) man indeed sit still as a representative of the dead, and then appear as the dragon? Can his voice resound as thunder, when he is profoundly still? Can he exhibit himself in his movements like heaven and earth? May I, Ci, also get to see him?' Accordingly with a message from Confucius he went to see Lao Dan.

老聃方將倨堂而應微曰：「予年運而往矣，子將何以戒我乎？」子貢曰：「夫三王、五帝之治天下不同，其係聲名一也。而先生獨以為非聖人，如何哉？」老聃曰：「小子少進！子何以謂不同？」對曰：「堯授舜，舜授禹，禹用力而湯用兵，文王順紂而不敢逆，武王逆紂而不肯順，故曰不同。」

Lao Dan was then about to answer (his salutation) haughtily in the hall, but he said in a low voice, 'My years have rolled on and are passing away, what do you, Sir, wish to admonish me about?' Zi-gong replied, 'The Three Kings and Five Dis ruled the world not in the same way, but the fame that has accrued to them is the same. How is it that you alone consider that they were not sages?' 'Come forward a little, my son. Why do you say that (their government) was not the same?' 'Yao,' was the reply, 'gave the kingdom to Shun, and Shun gave it to Yu. Yu had recourse to his strength, and Tang to the force of arms. King Wen was obedient to Zhou (-xin), and did not dare to rebel; king Wu rebelled against Zhou, and would not submit to him. And I say that their methods were not the same.'

老聃曰：「小子少進！余語汝三皇、五帝之治天下。黃帝之治天下，使民心一，民有其親死不哭而民不非也。堯之治天下，使民心親，民有為其親殺其殺而民不非也。舜之治天下，使民心競，民孕婦十月生子，子生五月而能言，不至乎孩而始誰，則人始有夭矣。禹之治天下，使民心變，人有心而兵有順，殺盜非殺，人自為種而天下耳，是以天下大駭，儒、墨皆起。其作始有倫，而今乎婦女，何言哉！余語汝：三皇、五帝之治天下，名曰治之，而亂莫甚焉。三皇之知，上悖日月之明，下睽山川之精，中墮四時之施。其知憯於蠣蠆之尾，鮮規之獸，莫得安其性命之情者，而猶自以為聖人，不可恥乎？其無恥也！」子貢蹴蹴然立不安。

Lao Dan said, 'Come a little more forward, my son, and I will tell you how the Three Huangs and the Five Dis ruled the world. Huang-Di ruled it, so as to make the minds of the people all conformed to the One (simplicity). If the parents of one of them died, and he did not wail, no one blamed him. Yao ruled it so as to cause the hearts of the people to cherish relative affection. If any, however, made the observances on the death of other members of their kindred less than those for their parents, no one blamed them. Shun ruled it, so as to produce a feeling of rivalry in the minds of the people. Their wives gave birth to their children in the tenth month of their pregnancy, but those children could speak at five months; and before they were three years old, they began to call people by their surnames and names. Then it was that men began to die prematurely. Yu ruled it, so as to cause the minds of the people to become changed. Men's minds became scheming, and they used their weapons as if they might legitimately do so, (saying that they were) killing thieves and not killing other men. The people formed themselves into different combinations - so it was throughout the kingdom. Everywhere there was great consternation, and then arose the Literati and (the followers of) Mo (Di). From them came first the doctrine of the relationships (of society); and what can be said of the now prevailing customs (in the marrying of) wives and daughters? I tell you that the rule of the Three Kings and Five Dis may be called by that name, but nothing can be greater than the disorder which it produced. The wisdom of the Three Kings was opposed to the brightness of the sun and moon above, contrary to the exquisite purity of the hills and streams below, and subversive of the beneficent gifts of the four seasons between. Their wisdom has been more fatal than the sting of a scorpion or the bite of a dangerous beast. Unable to rest in the true attributes of their nature and constitution, they still regarded themselves as sages: was it not a thing to be ashamed of? But they were shameless.' Zi-gong stood quite disconcerted and ill at ease.

孔子謂老聃曰：「丘治《詩》、《書》、《禮》、《樂》、《易》、《春秋》六經，自以為久矣，孰知其故矣，以奸者七十二君，論先王之道而明周、召之跡，一君無所鉤用。甚矣夫！人之難說也，道之難明邪！」

Confucius said to Lao Dan, 'I have occupied myself with the Shi, the Shu, the Li, the Yue, the Yi, and the Chun Qiu, those six Books, for what I myself consider a long time, and am thoroughly acquainted with their contents. With seventy-two rulers, all offenders against the right, I have discoursed about the ways of the former kings, and set forth the examples (of the dukes of Zhou and Shao); and not one of them has adopted (my views) and put them in practice: how very difficult it is to prevail on such men, and to make clear the path to be pursued!'

老子曰：「幸矣，子之不遇治世之君也！夫六經，先王之陳跡也，豈其所以跡哉！今子之所言，猶迹也。夫迹，履之所出，而迹豈履哉！夫白鶂之相視，眸子不運而風化；蟲，雄鳴於上風，雌應於下風而風化。類自為雌雄，故風化。性不可易，命不可變，時不可止，道不可壅。苟得其道，無自而不可；失焉者，無自而可。」

Laozi replied, 'It is fortunate that you have not met with a ruler fitted to rule the age. Those six writings are a description of the vestiges left by the former kings, but do not tell how they made such vestiges; and what you, Sir, speak about are still only the vestiges. But vestiges are the prints left by the shoes - are they the shoes that produced them? A pair of white herons look at each other with pupils that do not move, and impregnation takes place; the male insect emits its buzzing sound in the air above, and the female responds from the air below, and impregnation takes place; the creatures called lei are both male and female, and each individual breeds of itself. The nature cannot be altered; the conferred constitution cannot be changed; the march of the seasons cannot be arrested; the Dao cannot be stopped. If you get the Dao, there is no effect that cannot be produced; if you miss it, there is no effect that can.'

孔子不出三月，復見，曰：「丘得之矣。烏鵲孺，魚傅沫，細要者化，有弟而兄啼。久矣夫，丘不與化為人！不與化為人，安能化人！」老子曰：「可。丘得之矣。」

Confucius (after this) did not go out, till at the end of three months he went again to see Lao Dan, and said, 'I have got it. Ravens produce their young by hatching; fishes by the communication of their milt; the small-waisted wasp by transformation; when a younger brother comes, the elder weeps. Long is it that I have not played my part in harmony with these processes of transformation. But as I did not play my part in harmony with such transformation, how could I transform men?' Laozi said, 'You will do. Qiu, you have found the Dao.'

— — —

Translated by James Legge

Notes from Chinese Text Project (https://ctext.org/)

https://ctext.org/zhuangzi/outer-chapters