The Book of Chuang Tzu (Penguin)

Mount Chung, banish the three Miao tribes to the area of San Wei, and exile the Minister of Works to the Dark City. This is the measure of their failure to rule the world. This brings us to the Three Dynasties, when the world was in chaos. At the bottom we have people such as the dictator Chieh and Robber Chih; at the top we have people like Tseng and Shih. At this time the Literati and the Mohists also arose. As a result, contentment and fury squared up to each other, foolishness and wisdom rose against each other, good and bad insulted each other, the vainglorious and the sincere traded insults, and the whole of the world fell into decline. The great Virtue was no longer unified, and innate nature and destiny broke apart. The whole world sought knowledge and all the different peoples of the world were distracted. At this stage the axe and saw came into their own; the plumb line determined truth and brought execution; the hammer and gouge made their deep marks and the whole world fell into great disarray. The crime lies in playing around with people’s hearts. The result was that leaders of worth hid below the mountains and princes in charge of vast armies hid shaking in their ancestor shrines.

In this generation, those condemned to death are piled up; those who wear the punishment yoke press upon each other; those sentenced to beatings are never out of sight of each other. Out of this lot now appear the Literati and Mohists, waving their arms. Oh dear! That this lot should be so audacious! They have no shame! Isn’t it strange that we can see neither sageness nor wisdom, neither benevolence nor righteousness in the yoke and shackles of punishment! How can we tell whether or not Tseng and Shih are the arrows heralding the coming of Chieh and Chih? This is why I say, ‘Destroy the sage, throw away wisdom and the whole world will have great order.’

The Yellow Emperor was the master of the world for nineteen years: the whole world followed his edicts. Then he heard of Master Kuang Cheng, who was dwelling on top of Kung Tung mountain, and he went to see him, saying, ‘I understand that you, Master, have found the perfect Tao. I dare to ask you what is the essence of the perfect Tao? I would like to grasp the essence of Heaven and Earth and use them to assist the harvest of the five crops in order to help the people. I would like to be able to direct the yin and yang in order to bring all things to life. How can this be done?’

Master Kuang Cheng replied, ‘What you ask about is the true element of all things; what you seek control over is in essence divided. Since you began governing all below Heaven, the very breath of the clouds has not yet formed, and yet it rains; the trees and bushes drop their leaves before they have turned yellow; the light of the sun and moon grows ever weaker. You are a man whose heart has become numbed by words, you are insubstantial and feeble. It would be unworthy to teach you the Tao.’

The Yellow Emperor withdrew and ceased ruling the world. He constructed a rude hut, filled only with a white grass mat, and he dwelt there for three months undisturbed. Then he went again to make his request.

Master Kuang Cheng was lying down facing south.⁴⁶ The Yellow Emperor, with an air of deference, came forward kneeling. He bowed low twice and said, ‘I have heard it said, Master, that you are a master of the perfect Tao. I would like to ask, how should I govern my body in order to live a long life?’

Master Kuang Cheng sat up suddenly and said, ‘This question of yours! Splendid! I will teach you about the perfect Tao. The essence of the perfect Tao is hidden in darkness, lost in silence. Nothing seen; nothing heard. Embrace the spirit in quietness, the body with its own rightness. Be still, be pure, do not make your body struggle, do not disturb your essence. All this will result in a long life. The eye does not see, the ear does not hear, the heart knows nothing, yet your spirit will guard your body and your body will have a long life. Guard what is within, block that which is outside, for much knowledge is dangerous.

‘I will go with you up towards the great Light,⁴⁷ to the origins of the perfect other, the perfect yang. I will go with you through the gate of Deepest Mystery to the origin of the perfect other,⁴⁸ the perfect yin. Heaven and Earth have those who rule them, yin and yang have their places of concealment. Guard and take care of your body, then the rest takes good care of itself. I sustain the unity and dwell in harmony, thus have I remained alive for one thousand two hundred years and my body has not aged.’

The Yellow Emperor bowed his head to the ground twice and said, ‘Master Kuang Cheng, to me you are Heaven itself.’

Master Kuang Cheng said, ‘Splendid! I will teach you. This is inexhaustible, but people still think it has an end; this is incomprehensible, and yet people feel they can encompass it. The one who follows my Tao, if he is amongst the stars, will be elevated, if down below, will be a king. The one who fails to follow my Tao can see the brightness above but will still be just like the soil below. Every creature born comes from the soil and returns to soil. Therefore, I shall now leave you and enter the gate of that which has no limit in the fields of the boundless. There I shall combine with the sun and the moon. There I shall combine with Heaven and Earth forever. I combine with whatever is with me! What