The Book of Chuang Tzu (Penguin)

Chao into exile. King Chao eventually returned in triumph to his kingdom and rewarded those who had followed him. When he met sheep-butcher Yueh, Yueh said, ‘Oh great King, you lost your kingdom, and Yueh lost his butcher’s shop. The great King has regained his kingdom and Yueh has regained his butcher’s shop. I have received back what I needed, so why should you speak of rewarding me?’

The King said, ‘Make him!’

Sheep-butcher Yueh said, ‘The great King lost his kingdom but not because of anything I did, so I could not be punished for that. The great King has regained his kingdom, again not because of anything I did, therefore I wouldn’t expect to rewarded for that.’

‘I want to meet him,’ said the King.

Sheep-butcher Yueh said, ‘The laws of the kingdom of Chu say that someone must have achieved great deeds and been the recipient of acclaim before he can be called to meet the King. Now, my knowledge did not save the kingdom, nor was I courageous enough to die in battle with the invaders. When the armies of Wu entered Ying, I was terrified of the danger and fled from the invaders. I did not purposely follow the King. Yet the King intends breaking with convention and wants to see me. This is not the sort of thing I want the rest of the world to hear about me.’

The King said to Tzu Chi, the War Minister, ‘Sheep-butcher Yueh occupies a lowly place, yet what he says about righteousness is very profound. I want you to promote him to one of the three most senior positions in the government.’

Sheep-butcher Yueh said, ‘I appreciate that being one of the three most senior ministers is more noble than being a sheep-butcher, and that ten thousand chung is a better salary than what I currently earn. However, I cannot, through my desire for profit, allow the ruler to become known for being so profligate with his favours! I dare not accept, but wish simply to return to my stall as a sheep-butcher.’ He never did accept.

Yuan Hsien¹⁰⁶ lived in Lu, where his house was only a few steps wide and looked as if its thatch was shorn grass. Its broken door was made from brushwood and the door-posts were of mulberry wood. Earthenware pots minus their bottoms and stuffed with rags served as the two windows, while the house leaked above and was damp below, but he sat contentedly playing music.

Tzu Kung,¹⁰⁷ wearing an inner robe of purple and an outer one of white and travelling in a carriage drawn by large horses, the top of which could not fit through the gate, came to see Yuan Hsien. Yuan Hsien emerged at his gate to greet him, wearing a hat made of bark and slippers worn down to the heel, holding a staff made of hellebore.

Tzu Kung said, ‘Good grief, Sir! You must be in terrible distress.’

Yuan Hsien replied, ‘I have heard say that to have no money is to be poor, and to have studied but to have no way to use one’s studies is to be in distress. Now, I may be poor, but I am not in distress.’

Tzu Kung stepped back in astonishment and embarrassment.

Yuan Hsien laughed and said, ‘To act only in order to be praised; to pretend to be even-handed and yet to be biased; to study just so as to show off; to teach just in order to boast; to hide your real intentions behind a pretence of righteousness and benevolence; to show off through extravagant use of horses and chariots, I can’t bear all this!’

Tseng Tzu lived in Wei, wearing a worn hemp quilt coat and no outer garment, with a haggard and emaciated visage and his hands and feet callused and hardened. He could go three days without lighting a fire, ten years without having a new set of clothes. If he put his hat on straight, the straps broke; if he pulled his coat together, his elbows came through the cloth; and if he pulled on his shoes, his heels broke through at the back. Nevertheless, as he shuffled along, he sang the Odes of Sacrifice of Shang¹⁰⁸ with a voice that penetrated Heaven and Earth as if it came from a struck bell or a chiming stone. The Son of Heaven could not get him to be a minister nor could the princes make him their friend. Thus it is with those who feed their souls while forgetting their body. Those who feed their bodies forget about ideas of profit, and those who follow the Tao forget about the concerns of the heart.

Confucius said to Yen Hui, ‘Hui, come here! Your family is poor and you are lowly, so why not seek high office?’

Yen Hui replied, ‘I don’t want to be an official. I have fifty acres of farm land outside the city, which supplies me with basic foods. I have ten acres of land within the outer wall and this supplies me with luxuries. I take delight in playing my lute and I am more than happy just to study the Tao of my Master. I don’t want any positions.’

Confucius looked upset. Then his demeanour changed and he said, ‘What a splendid mind you have, Hui! I have heard it said,

‘ “One who knows he is contented will not get mixed up in the pursuit of gain;

one who truly understands what is good will not be worried by any loss;

one who knows himself inwardly will not be worried by lack of external positions.”

‘I have been preaching this for a long time, but now I see it embodied in you, Hui, and I have certainly benefited from that today.’

Prince Mou of Wei from Chung Shan said to Chan Tzu, ‘My body is here beside the rivers and oceans, but my heart is back in the courts of Wei. What advice can you give me?’

Chan Tzu said, ‘Value life. If you value life then you will put profit into perspective.’

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