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Statue of Lao Tzu (Image source: Public Domain/National Palace Museum)
“Huainanzi” is a work collectively compiled by the Western Han Dynasty royal family Huainan King Liu An and his disciples who collected historical materials and documents. It is also known as “Huainan Honglie” and “Liu Anzi”. Liang Qichao said: “Huainan Honglie is the origin of Taoism in the Western Han Dynasty. Its book is broad and coherent, and it is the best among Han writings.”
“Huainanzi” was written by many hands, has extensive content, and integrates the thoughts of pre-Qin scholars. “Huainanzi” was fully translated into English and Japanese in the 20th century, as well as abridged translations into French and German. It is an important classic in the history of Chinese culture.
This article introduces readers to part of the content of the “Daoying” chapter in “Huainanzi”.
[Original text]Laozi said: “Those who obey this way do not want to be full. I am not full, so I can do harm but not achieve anything new.”
(General meaning) Lao Tzu said: “Those who follow this path do not seek to be full. It is precisely because they are not excessively full that they can achieve success even though they are old.”
(1) Confucius and Zigong visited the temple and talked about Yingman
Confucius visited the temple of Duke Huan of Lu and saw a utensil called a 奥卮 in the temple. Confucius said: “Okay! It’s an honor for me to be able to see this kind of utensil.” He turned around and said to his accompanying disciples: “Get some water!” The water was immediately taken and poured into the temple. When it was filled to the right amount, This cup is flat and straight, but once it is filled, it will fall over. At this time, Confucius suddenly said seriously: “This utensil tells us about our attitude towards Yingman.” Zigong immediately asked: “What is the attitude of Yingman?” Confucius replied: “This utensil tells us , it must be reduced when it is full.”
Zigong asked again: “Why does it have to be diminished when it is full?” Confucius explained: “When things prosper, they will turn to decline, just like extreme joy leads to sorrow. The same is true in nature. The sun sets to the west after noon, and the moon becomes full. Therefore, being wise and wise must be maintained by stupidity; being knowledgeable and broad-spoken. Talent must be maintained by being ignorant and ignorant; bravery and strength must be maintained by cowardice and cowardice; wealth and abundance must be maintained by simplicity and frugality; spreading virtue to the world must be maintained by surrender and humility. Guard. These five aspects are the magic weapon that the king used to protect the world without losing it. There is no danger in violating these five aspects.”
That’s why Lao Tzu said: “Those who follow this path do not seek to be full. It is precisely because they are not excessively full that they can succeed in renewing even though they are old.”
Note: 奥卮 is also called “契卮”. That is, the Qianqiu, which is also the utensil for sitting. A weapon used by ancient emperors to discipline themselves. If filled, it will overturn.
(2) The reason why King Hui of Wei abandoned Chunyu Kun’s mission to Chu State
Chunyu Kun, a native of Qi, lobbied King Wei Hui with the strategy of co-vertical alliance. King Wei Hui believed that Chunyu Kun’s argument was reasonable. So ten carriages were prepared for him and he was sent as an envoy to the Chu State to implement the alliance. But when Chunyu Kun was about to leave, he felt that the strategy of combining vertical and horizontal lines was not very perfect, so he used the strategy of joining forces and horizontal lines to persuade King Wei Hui. The words are equally eloquent and reasonable. However, King Hui of Wei thought that Chunyu Kun was somewhat capricious and untrustworthy, so he refused to let him go as an envoy to Chu and deliberately alienated him. In this way, Chunyu Kun neither had the will to implement the alliance, nor could he implement the strategy of alliance. This was his despicableness.
This shows that words must have a purpose, and actions must grasp the fundamentals; without purpose and foundation, no matter how many skills you have, it will be of no use; it is better to have fewer skills. Therefore, the tripod of the Zhou Dynasty had a statue of Gong Zui cast on it, and he was specially made to bite his finger, in order to warn people that it is not advisable to be too clever.
Therefore, Shenzi said: “A craftsman knows how to make a door, but if he doesn’t know how to make the door open and close, it means he doesn’t know the key to making a door. So he must know the key to making a door before he can be considered good at making a door.”
Note: King Hui of Wei is also King Hui of Liang, and his surname is Wei. The third monarch of Wei during the Warring States Period. When King Hui of Wei was in power, he moved the capital to Daliang, recruited talented people, dug gaps to develop agriculture, selected military soldiers, and built the Great Wall of Wei, which for a time made the Wei state strong again. However, the diplomatic enemies on all sides and the successive military defeats still turned Wei from prosperity to decline.
(to be continued)
Editor in charge: Shen Siming Source: Look at China
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