Shan Juan

Shan Juan was a worthy man of antiquity. Emperor Yao heard that he had attained the Dao and thus faced north to study under him as a teacher. After Yao completed his reign, Shun also offered to yield the world to Shan Juan.

Shan Juan replied: “In the past, when the Tang Dynasty [referring to Emperor Yao’s lineage] possessed the world, the people followed without being taught, and they were encouraged without being rewarded. The world was perfectly balanced, the common people were tranquil; they knew neither resentment nor excessive joy.

“But now, you elaborate on clothing and garments to dazzle the people’s eyes; you complicate the five tones of music to confuse the people’s ears; you create the grand Huang and Shao music to delude the people’s minds. The chaos of the world begins from this! Even if I were to take up this role, what benefit would it bring?

“I stand within the universe: in winter, I wear furs; in summer, I wear coarse linen. In spring, I plow and plant, my body sufficient for the labor; in autumn, I harvest and store, my person sufficient for rest and food. I rise at sunrise to work and rest at sunset. I wander freely between heaven and earth, and my heart and mind are fully content. Why would I need the world? Alas! You do not understand me.”

Thus, he did not accept the offer. He departed, entered the deep mountains, and no one ever knew his whereabouts.

Note

This passage presents a sharp critique of civilization’s progress from a primitive Daoist perspective, contrasting the simplicity of the ancient past with the artificiality of developed culture.

Shan Juan

A legendary hermit-sage. Unlike other figures who simply refuse power, Shan Juan offers a philosophical diagnosis of why power and civilization are harmful. He represents the ideal of self-sufficiency and alignment with natural cycles.

Emperor Yao (Tang Shi)

Referred to here as “Tang” (his clan name). Shan Juan praises Yao’s early reign as a golden age of “non-action” (Wu Wei), where governance was so natural that people didn’t even realize they were being governed.

Lao Tzu (Laozi) once said:

The best ruler is one whom the people barely feel exists. They only vaguely know he is there, yet never perceive his interference or control.

— Dao De Jing, Chapter 17

Emperor Shun

The successor to Yao. In this text, he represents the beginning of cultural decline. By introducing elaborate rituals, music, and clothing, Shun (in Shan Juan’s view) inadvertently created desire and confusion among the people.

The “Tang Dynasty” (Tang Shi)

Note that this refers to the legendary era of Emperor Yao (clan name Qi-Tang), not the historical Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) of later Chinese history.

Critique of Civilization (The Fall from Grace)

• Shan Juan argues that the development of culture (fancy clothes, complex music, formal rituals) is not progress, but the root of chaos.
• Elaborate sights dazzle the eyes, complex sounds confuse the ears, and sophisticated music deludes the mind. This creates artificial desires, leading to competition, resentment, and loss of inner peace.
• This mirrors the Laozi idea: “The five colors blind the eye; the five tones deafen the ear.”

The Golden Age of Non-Action

The description of Yao’s era (“not taught but followed,” “not rewarded but encouraged”) illustrates the Daoist ideal of Wu Wei. When rulers align with the Dao, the people naturally flourish without coercion or artificial incentives.

Agrarian Self-Sufficiency

Shan Juan’s lifestyle description (“spring plowing,” “autumn harvesting,” “rise at sunrise, rest at sunset”) epitomizes the agrarian ideal. It suggests that true happiness comes from meeting basic physical needs through direct labor and living in sync with nature, rather than accumulating wealth or power.

“Facing North”

Yao “faced north” to study under Shan Juan. In ancient China, the ruler sat facing south (the position of authority). To face north was the position of a subject or student. This detail highlights that even the greatest King recognized the spiritual superiority of the hermit.

Huang (Yellow Bell) & Shao (Continuation)

These refer to the legendary perfect music attributed to the Yellow Emperor and Emperor Shun, respectively. Confucians revered this music as the pinnacle of moral cultivation. However, Shan Juan (representing the Daoist view) dismisses it as a tool that “deludes the mind,” arguing that such high culture separates people from their simple, authentic nature.

善卷者，古之贤人也。尧闻得道，乃北面师之。及尧受终之后，舜又以天下让卷。卷曰：“昔唐氏之有天下，不教而民从之，不赏而民劝之，天下均平，百姓安静，不知怨，不知喜。今子盛为衣裳之服以眩民目，繁调五音之声以乱民耳，丕作皇韶之乐以愚民心，天下之乱，从此始矣。吾虽为之，其何益乎！予立于宇宙之中，冬衣皮毛，夏衣絺葛，春耕种形足以劳动，秋收敛身足以休食，曰出而作，曰入而息，逍遥於天地之间，而心意自得。吾何以天下为哉？悲夫！子之不知余也。”遂不受，去，入深山，莫知其处。