In ancient times, the human population was small while birds and beasts were numerous. People could not withstand the harm inflicted by wild animals, insects, and snakes.
Then a wise sage emerged. He built nests from wood to avoid all these perils. The people were delighted and made him ruler of the world; he was known as Youchao Shi (the Nest-Dwelling Sage).
At that time, people ate wild fruits, melons, shellfish, and clams. The raw, fishy stench upset their stomachs and intestines, causing frequent illnesses among the people. Another sage appeared, inventing the method of drilling wood to make fire to eliminate the raw and fishy odor. The people rejoiced and made him ruler; he was called Suiren Shi (the Fire-Making Sage).
In the middle ancient era, great floods ravaged the land, and Gun and Yu dredged rivers to drain the waters.
In the later ancient era, Jie and Zhou ruled with tyranny and chaos, so Tang and Wu rose to launch punitive campaigns against them.
If someone built tree nests and drilled for fire in the Xia Dynasty age, they would surely be laughed at by Gun and Yu.
If someone attempted only to dredge rivers in the Yin and Zhou dynasties, they would surely be mocked by Tang and Wu.
Likewise, anyone who praises and rigidly imitates the ways of Yao, Shun, Tang, Wu, and Yu in the present age will inevitably be ridiculed by the new sages.
Therefore, wise rulers do not admire and copy antiquity, nor cling to fixed old rules. They assess the affairs of their own era and make policies suited to current conditions.
There was a farmer in the State of Song. In his field stood a tree stump. A hare ran swiftly, crashed into the stump, broke its neck, and died. The farmer then laid down his plow, sat by the stump, and hoped to catch another hare in the same way. No more hares appeared, and he became the laughingstock of the whole State of Song.
Those who wish to govern the people of today with the old policies of ancient kings are just like the man waiting by the stump for hares.
Note
Youchao Shi: A legendary primordial sage. He invented wooden nest dwellings to help ancient humans escape wild beasts, representing the origin of primitive architecture and safe living.
Suiren Shi: A mythical ancient sage who invented drilling wood to make fire. Fire use allowed humans to cook food, ward off cold and beasts, and reduce disease, marking a key leap in human civilization.
Gun & Yu: Gun was the father of Yu the Great; both were famous flood-control figures in pre-Xia times. Yu the Great successfully controlled the great floods of ancient China.
Jie & Zhou: Tyrannical last kings of the Xia and Shang dynasties, symbols of cruel, corrupt and incompetent rulers.
Tang & Wu: King Tang of Shang and King Wu of Zhou. They overthrew tyrannical regimes and founded new dynasties, representing righteous revolution and dynastic replacement.
Yao & Shun: Sage emperors of primitive society, regarded as models of virtue and wise governance in traditional Chinese culture.
Han Fei: Legalist thinker of the Warring States Period, advocating reform, abandoning blind admiration of the ancients, and governing according to the times.
Evolution of Civilization: The text sorts the progress of human society: living in nests → using fire → flood control → overthrowing tyrants, showing that social systems and living methods keep evolving with the times.
Legalist Idea of Reform: Core viewpoint: Do not follow ancient customs blindly; govern according to current reality. Oppose conservatism and rigidly copying ancient systems.
Ancient Social Cognition: Ancient Chinese viewed historical development as progressive, and believed governance methods must keep pace with changes in society.
Waiting by the Stump for Hares (守株待兔)
A classic Chinese idiom. It means clinging to accidental luck, being rigid and stubborn, refusing to adapt to changes, and hoping to gain rewards without effort. It is used to satirize those who mechanically apply old methods to new times.
上古之世，人民少而禽兽众，人民不胜禽兽虫蛇。有圣人作，构木为巢以避群害，而民悦之，使王天下，号曰有巢氏。民食果蓏蚌蛤，腥臊恶臭而伤害腹胃，民多疾病。有圣人作，钻燧取火以化腥臊，而民说之，使王天下，号之曰燧人氏。中古之世，天下大水，而鲧、禹决渎。近古之世，桀、纣暴乱，而汤、武征伐。今有构木钻燧于夏后氏之世者，必为鲧、禹笑矣；有决渎于殷、周之世者，必为汤、武笑矣。然则今有美尧、舜、汤、武、禹之道于当今之世者，必为新圣笑矣。是以圣人不期修古，不法常可，论世之事，因为之备。宋有人耕田者，田中有株，兔走触株，折颈而死，因释其耒而守株，冀复得兔，兔不可复得，而身为宋国笑。今欲以先王之政，治当世之民，皆守株之类也。
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