Lie Yukou was on his way to Qi, but turned back halfway. He met Bohun Maoren (Bohun Wuren). Bohun Maoren said, “Why have you turned back?”
“I was startled,” said Lie Yukou.
“What startled you?”
“I once ate at ten gruel shops, and five of them served me first without my asking.”
Bohun Maoren (Bohun Wuren) said, “If that is so, why were you startled?”
Lie Yukou said, “When inner sincerity is not released, it shows in the body and becomes radiance. It overawes people’s hearts, making them lightly esteem the noble and the old, and so one brings trouble on oneself. The gruel sellers are only in the business of food and soup; they have no surplus profit. Their gain is thin, their power is light, yet even they acted so. How much more a ruler of ten thousand chariots! His body labors for the state, his knowledge is exhausted in affairs. He will entrust me with office and expect merit from me. This is why I was startled.”
Bohun Maoren (Bohun Wuren) said, “Excellent insight! But you stay put, and people will gather around you.”
Before long he went to see Liezi, and the shoes outside his door filled the doorway. Bohun Maoren stood facing north, leaned on his staff, and rested his chin on it. He stood a while, said nothing, and went out.
The usher told Liezi. Liezi picked up his shoes, ran barefoot to the door, and said, “Master, since you have come, will you not give me medicine?”
Bohun Maoren (Bohun Wuren) said, “Enough. I already told you: people will gather around you. Indeed they have gathered around you! It is not that you can make people gather around you; it is that you cannot make people not gather around you. Why use this to stir yourself and show off? If you must be stirred, it shakes your original nature – this is meaningless. Those who wander with you do not warn you either. Their petty talk is all human poison. No awakening, no understanding – how can you be mature? The skillful labor; the knowing worry. The incapable have nothing to seek; they eat their fill and wander freely, drifting like an unmoored boat – empty and wandering freely.
“There was a man of Zheng named Huan. He chanted and studied in the land of Qiu. In only three years Huan became a Confucian. His benefits moistened nine li like a river, and his blessings reached the three clans. He made his younger brother a Mohist. The Confucians and Mohists debated with each other, and his father helped Di. After ten years Huan killed himself. His father dreamed of him, saying: ‘It was I who made your son a Mohist. Why not look at my grave? It has already become the fruit of autumn cypress.’
“Now the Creator’s reward to a man does not reward the man but rewards the man’s Heaven. Thus it made him so. People think they have something that makes them different from others, and so they despise their kin. The people of Qi who drank from a well pushed one another. Therefore I say: everyone in the present age is like Huan. From this, one with virtue regards it as not-knowing, how much more one with the Way! The ancients called this the punishment of fleeing Heaven. The sage is at peace with what he is at peace with, and is not at peace with what he is not at peace with. The multitude is at peace with what it is not at peace with, and is not at peace with what it is at peace with.
“Zhuangzi said: ‘To know the Way is easy; not to speak of it is hard. To know and not speak is to go toward Heaven. To know and speak is to go toward man. The ancients were Heavenly, not human.’ Zhu Pingman learned dragon-slaying from Zhili Yi. He spent a thousand pieces of gold from his family. After three years his skill was complete, but there was nowhere to use his cleverness.
“The sage takes the necessary as not necessary, and so has no weapons. The multitude takes the unnecessary as necessary, and so has many weapons. Following weapons, their actions have demands. Weapons: rely on them and you perish. The knowledge of petty men does not go beyond wrapped gifts and bamboo letters. They exhaust their spirit on shallow and narrow things, yet wish to save all things and embody the Great One and the void. Such people are confused by the universe; burdened by form, they do not know the Great Beginning. The Perfect Man returns his spirit to the Beginningless and sweetly hides in the land of Nothing-Whatsoever. Water flows without form, issuing into the Great Clarity. Sad! Your knowledge is in a hair’s tip, yet you do not know the Great Peace.”
A man of Song named Cao Shang was sent by the King of Song on a mission to Qin. When he went, he got several carriages. The King of Qin was pleased with him and added a hundred carriages. Returning to Song, he saw Zhuangzi and said, “To dwell in a poor lane and narrow alley, to be hard pressed and weave sandals, to have a withered neck and sallow face – this is Cao Shang’s shortcoming. To awaken a ruler of ten thousand chariots with one word and follow with a hundred carriages – this is Cao Shang’s strong point.”
Zhuangzi said, “The King of Qin was sick and summoned physicians. One who broke boils and drained sores got one carriage. One who licked hemorrhoids got five carriages. The lower the treatment, the more carriages. Did you perhaps treat his hemorrhoids? Why did you get so many carriages? Go away!”
Duke Ai of Lu asked Yan He, “If I take Zhongni as my pillar, will the state be cured?”
Yan He said, “Dangerous! Perilous! Zhongni is just now adorning feathers and painting, pursuing flowery words. He takes branches as the main point, suppresses his nature to show the people, and does not know he is not trusted. He receives in his heart and dominates his spirit – how can he be placed above the people? He is fit for you and me to nourish – if we mistake him, it may pass. But now he makes the people leave reality and learn falsehood; this is not the way to show the people. If you consider later generations, better to leave him alone. He is hard to govern.”
To give to others and not forget it is not Heaven’s bestowal. Merchants do not rank it; though affairs may rank it, spirits do not rank it. Outer punishments are metal and wood; inner punishments are movement and fault. Petty men who meet outer punishment are interrogated by metal and wood; those who meet inner punishment are devoured by yin and yang. Only the True Man can escape both outer and inner punishment.
Confucius said, “The human heart is more dangerous than mountains and rivers; it is harder to know than Heaven. Heaven still has spring, autumn, winter, summer, morning, and evening with their fixed times. Man has a thick appearance and deep feelings. Therefore some appear honest but are overreaching; some seem superior but are unworthy; some are compliant and yet penetrating; some are firm but lax; some are slow but fierce. Thus those who rush to righteousness as if thirsty may leave righteousness as if hot. Therefore the gentleman sends a man far away to observe his loyalty; keeps him near to observe his respect; burdens him to observe his ability; asks him suddenly to observe his knowledge; gives him an urgent deadline to observe his trust; entrusts him with wealth to observe his benevolence; tells him of danger to observe his integrity; makes him drunk to observe his conduct; places him in mixed company to observe his demeanor. When these nine tests are complete, the unworthy man is found out.”
Zheng Kaofu, on his first appointment, bowed; on his second, stooped; on his third, bent low and walked along the wall. Who would dare not follow the rule? But ordinary men: on the first appointment they puff up; on the second they dance on the carriage; on the third they call their elders by name. Who matches Tang and Xu? No thief is greater than virtue with intention, and mind with eyelashes. When it has eyelashes, it looks inward; looking inward, it is ruined. There are five bad virtues; the middle virtue is the chief. What is the middle virtue? It is having something by which one likes oneself and criticizes what one does not do.
Poverty has eight extremes; success has three necessities; form has six storehouses. Beauty, beard, height, largeness, strength, elegance, bravery, daring – these eight surpass others, and because of them one is impoverished. Following along, bending, and fearing inadequacy – these three, though not equal to others, all lead to success. Wisdom outward, brave action with much resentment, benevolence and righteousness with much blame – these six punish one another. One who penetrates the nature of life is great; one who penetrates knowledge is small; one who penetrates great fate follows; one who penetrates small fate meets.
A man who had seen the King of Song was given ten carriages. He used his ten carriages to be arrogant toward Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi said, “By the river there was a poor family that lived by weaving reeds. Their son dived into a deep pool and got a pearl worth a thousand pieces of gold. The father said to his son, ‘Bring a stone and smash it! A pearl worth a thousand pieces of gold must be under the chin of a black dragon in a ninefold abyss. You were able to get the pearl only because you met it asleep. If the black dragon had been awake, would you have had even a tiny bit left?’ Now the depth of the state of Song is not merely a ninefold abyss; the fierceness of the King of Song is not merely a black dragon. You were able to get carriages only because you met him asleep. If the King of Song wakes, you will be minced powder.”
Someone invited Zhuangzi to office. Zhuangzi answered the messenger, “Have you seen the sacrificial ox? It is dressed in embroidered cloth and fed fine grain. When it is led into the great temple, though it wishes to be an orphan calf, can it?”
When Zhuangzi was about to die, his disciples wanted to bury him lavishly. Zhuangzi said, “I take Heaven and Earth as my inner and outer coffin, the sun and moon as my paired jades, the stars as my pearls, and all things as my funeral gifts. Are my burial goods not complete? What could be added?”
The disciples said, “We fear the crows and kites will eat you.”
Zhuangzi said, “Above, I will be eaten by crows and kites; below, by ants and mole crickets. Taking from one to give to the other – how partial!”
To level with what is not level – its leveling is not level. To verify with what is not verified – its verification is not verified. The clear-sighted are only employed by things; the spiritual verifies them. That the clear-sighted cannot overcome the spiritual has long been so, yet the foolish rely on what they see to enter into others; their work is external – is this not sad!
Note
Lie Yukou / Liezi (列御寇 / 列子)
A Daoist philosopher, traditionally regarded as the author of the Liezi. In this chapter he is on his way to Qi but turns back because he is startled by how people treat him. He is a seeker who is still attached to his own radiance and reputation.
Bohun Maoren (Bohun Wuren, 伯昏瞀人, 伯昏无人)
A Daoist sage, possibly fictional. His name suggests “Elder Muddled” or “Dim-Sighted.” He appears in several Zhuangzi stories as a teacher who sees through social reputation. He warns Liezi that people will gather around him – and then they do. He refuses to give easy comfort.
Zheng Huan (郑人缓)
A man of Zheng, probably fictional. He studies for three years and becomes a Confucian. He makes his brother a Mohist. The brothers and their factions debate, and their father takes sides. After ten years Huan kills himself. The story shows how moral and intellectual factions divide families and destroy life.
Zhu Pingman (朱泙漫) and Zhili Yi (支离益)
Zhu Pingman is a fictional man who learns dragon-slaying from Zhili Yi. He spends a fortune, completes the skill in three years, and finds no use for it. This is the classic image of useless expertise – training for a problem that does not exist.
Cao Shang (曹商)
A man of Song sent as an envoy to Qin. He returns with a hundred carriages and boasts to Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi compares him to a doctor who licks hemorrhoids for reward. The lower the service, the greater the pay.
Duke Ai of Lu (鲁哀公)
A ruler of Lu during Confucius’s time. He asks Yan He whether making Confucius a state pillar will cure Lu. Yan He says no: Confucius will make people leave reality and learn falsehood.
Yan He (颜阖)
A worthy man of Lu, often portrayed as having Daoist leanings. He criticizes Confucius for suppressing nature and pursuing flowery words.
Confucius / Zhongni (孔子 / 仲尼)
The founder of Confucianism. Here he appears in two roles: criticized by Yan He, and as a teacher of the “nine tests” for judging character.
Zheng Kaofu (正考父)
An ancestor of Confucius, famous for humility. On his first appointment he bowed; on his second he stooped; on his third he bent low and walked along the wall. He is the opposite of the ordinary man who becomes arrogant with each promotion.
Tang and Xu (唐许)
“Tang” likely refers to Tang Yao (Yao), the legendary sage king. “Xu” likely refers to Xu You, the hermit who refused the throne. Together they represent the highest ancient virtue.
Gruel Shops (十浆)
In ancient China, roadside shops sold gruel or soup to travelers. Liezi is startled because five out of ten shops served him first without being asked. This shows he already radiated a presence that drew special treatment – and he feared the consequences.
Shoes Outside the Door (户外之屦满)
People removed their shoes before entering a house. A doorway full of shoes meant many guests had gathered. Bohun Maoren (Bohun Wuren) sees this as proof that Liezi’s reputation is attracting a crowd.
Facing North (北面而立)
In ancient court ritual, the ruler faced south; subjects faced north. Standing facing north can indicate a subordinate or respectful position. Bohun Maoren (Bohun Wuren) stands facing north, perhaps as a teacher facing his seated disciple.
Carrying Shoes and Running Barefoot (提屦跣而走)
Liezi picks up his shoes and runs barefoot to the door. This shows haste, respect, and alarm. He is desperate to hear Bohun Maoren’s teaching.
Confucians and Mohists (儒墨)
Two major schools of thought in ancient China. Confucians emphasized ritual, family, and moral cultivation. Mohists emphasized universal love, utility, and argumentation. Their debates often divided families and states.
Sacrificial Ox (牺牛)
An ox chosen for sacrifice was decorated and fed well before being led to the temple. Zhuangzi uses it as an image of someone tempted by office: you are pampered, then slaughtered. Once you are led to the temple, you cannot go back to being a free calf.
Burial Customs and Coffins (棺椁)
Ancient Chinese elites used inner and outer coffins, jade ornaments, and lavish grave goods. Zhuangzi rejects all of this. He wants Heaven and Earth as his coffin, the sun and moon as jade, and the stars as pearls. When his disciples worry about birds eating him, he says ants and birds are equal – why be partial?
Nine Tests of Character (九徵)
Confucius lists nine ways to test a person: send them far, keep them near, burden them, ask suddenly, give urgent deadlines, entrust wealth, tell of danger, make them drunk, and place them in mixed company. This is an early example of practical character assessment.
Dragon-Slaying (屠龙)
Zhu Pingman learns to kill dragons, spends a fortune, and finds no dragons to kill. The phrase “learning to slay dragons” became a Chinese idiom for acquiring a useless skill. It warns against training for imaginary problems.
Licking Hemorrhoids (舐痔)
Zhuangzi’s brutal image for flattery. A doctor who treats a king’s boils gets one carriage; one who licks his hemorrhoids gets five. The lower the service, the greater the reward. It mocks those who gain wealth by degrading themselves before power.
The Black Dragon’s Pearl (骊龙颔下之珠)
A priceless pearl lies under the chin of a black dragon in a ninefold abyss. You can only get it if the dragon is asleep. Zhuangzi tells Cao Shang that his carriages are like that pearl: he got them only because the King of Song was asleep. If the king wakes, Cao Shang will be destroyed.
The Well-Drinkers of Qi (齐人之井饮者相捽)
People pushing one another at a well. The image suggests that even basic needs create conflict and competition. It is used to show how people fight over small advantages.
The Unmoored Boat (不系之舟)
The ideal person drifts like a boat with no mooring – empty, free, wandering. This is a classic Daoist image of non-attachment.
Water Flowing Without Form (水流乎无形)
The Perfect Man’s spirit flows like water, taking no fixed shape, issuing into the Great Clarity. This is the opposite of the petty man whose knowledge is stuck in a hair’s tip.
The Sacrificial Ox and the Orphan Calf
The ox is decorated and fed, then led to slaughter. It wishes it could be a free calf again. The image warns that political office may look glorious but ends in sacrifice.
The Ninefold Abyss (九重之渊)
A bottomless depth. It represents the dangerous depth of the state and the ruler’s power.
Minced Powder (齑粉)
To be reduced to powder. Zhuangzi warns Cao Shang that if the King of Song wakes from his “sleep,” Cao Shang will be utterly destroyed.
Reputation is a trap
Liezi is startled because people gather around him. Bohun Maoren (Bohun Wuren) warns that this happens because Liezi cannot make people not gather. The sage should be empty, not magnetic.
Factions destroy families
The story of Zheng Huan shows how Confucian and Mohist debates split a family and end in suicide.
Useful uselessness
Zhu Pingman learns dragon-slaying and has no use for it. The sage does not train for imaginary battles.
Weapons and force lead to ruin
The sage takes the necessary as unnecessary and so has no weapons. The multitude takes the unnecessary as necessary and so has many weapons.
Wealth gained by degradation is not honor
Cao Shang’s hundred carriages are the reward for licking hemorrhoids.
Ritual without reality is dangerous
Yan He says Confucius makes people leave reality and learn falsehood.
The human heart is hard to know
Confucius gives nine tests to reveal character.
Humility is the mark of true greatness
Zheng Kaofu bows lower with each promotion. Ordinary men become arrogant.
Death is natural
Zhuangzi rejects lavish burial. Heaven and Earth are his coffin; birds and ants may eat him equally.
The spiritual is greater than the clear-sighted
The foolish rely on what they see; the spiritual verifies. Outer cleverness cannot overcome inner spirit.
杂篇·列御寇第三十二
列御寇之齐，中道而反，遇伯昏瞀人。伯昏瞀人曰：“奚方而反？”曰：“吾惊焉。”曰：“恶乎惊？”曰：“吾尝食于十浆而五浆先馈。”伯昏瞀人曰：“若是则汝何为惊已？”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！身劳于国而知尽于事。彼将任我以事，而效我以功。吾是以惊。”伯昏瞀人曰：“善哉观乎！女处已，人将保汝矣！”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？”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。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！
“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。’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！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。
“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。’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。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。悲哉乎！汝为知在毫毛而不知大宁。”
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。”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！”
鲁哀公问乎颜阖曰：“吾以仲尼为贞干，国其有瘳乎？”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。为后世虑，不若休之。难治也！”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。夫免乎外内之刑者，唯真人能之。
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。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。九徵至，不肖人得矣。”
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？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。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。达生之性者傀，达于知者肖，达大命者随，达小命者遭。
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。子能得珠者，必遭其睡也。使骊龙而寤，子尚奚微之有哉！’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。”
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！”
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！”弟子曰：“吾恐乌鸢之食夫子也。”庄子曰：“在上为乌鸢食，在下为蝼蚁食，夺彼与此，何其偏也。”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！
Leave a Reply