For the
benefit of my readers, I am presenting the time-honoured wisdom of China
through the Sayings of Confucius, Mencius, Lao-tzu, Chuang-tzu and Lieh Tzu:
I. Sayings of Confucius
a. “Wisdom, benevolence and
fortitude---these three are the universal virtues. The means by which they are
practiced is another thing. Some are born with the knowledge of these beauties;
some know them by study; some gain them as the result of painful experience.
But the knowledge, being possessed, it comes to one and the same thing. Some
practice them with the ease of nature; some for the sake of their advantage;
and some by dint of great effort. But when the work of them is done, it comes
to one and the same thing. Having not, yet affecting to have; empty, yet
affecting to be full; straightened, yet affecting to be in easy
circumstances---it is difficult with such characteristics to be consistent.
Ardent, yet not upright; stupid, and yet not attentive; simple, and yet not
sincere---such persons I cannot understand.”
b. “Humanity is like a heavy vessel,
and like a long road. He who tries to lift the vessel cannot sustain its weight;
he who travels the road cannot accomplish all its distance. There is nothing
that has so many different degrees as humanity; and thus who tries to nerve
himself to compass it finds it a difficult task.“
c. “To lie under arms and meet death
without regret---this is the strength of Northern regions, and the strong make
it their study. To show forbearance and gentleness in teaching others, and not
revenge unreasonable conduct, this is the strength of Southern regions, and the
good man makes it his study.”
d. “I have not seen one who loves
virtue as he loves beauty. The doings of the Supreme Heaven have neither sound
nor smell. That is perfect virtue.”
e. “A Minister, in serving his Prince,
reverently discharges his duties, and makes his emolument a secondary
consideration. Truly straightforward was the historiographer Yu. When good
government prevailed in his State, he was like an ARROW. When bad government prevailed he was again like an ARROW.”
f. “The rules aimed at in the Great
College where the prevention of evil before it was manifested; the timeliness
of instruction just when it was required; the suitability of the lessons in
adaptation to circumstances, and the good influence of Example to all those concerned. It was from these four things that
the teaching was so flourishing.”
g. “To be fond of learning is near to
wisdom; to practice with vigour is near to benevolence; and to be conscious of
shame is near to fortitude. He who knows these three things knows how to
cultivate his own character. Knowing how to cultivate his own character, he
knows how to govern other men. Knowing how to govern other men, he knows how to
govern the Kingdom, with its States and families.”
h. “What you do not like when done to
yourself, do not do to others.”
II. Sayings Of Mencius
a. “A real man is one whose goodness is
a part of himself. Of all the qualities of the sage, none is greater than that
of being a helper of men to right living. He is ashamed of a reputation beyond
his desert. Having found the right way within himself, he rests in it, firm and
serene, holding intimate converse with it, and reaching to its fountain-head.
He obeys the right and waits for the appointed. His words are plain and simple,
yet of widest bearing. The aim is self-culture, yet it gives peace to all men.”
b. “All things are already complete in
us. There is no greater delight than to be conscious of right within us. If one
strive to treat others as he would be treated by them, he shall not fail to
come near the perfect life. Every duty is a charge, but a charge of oneself is
the root of others. The disease of men is to neglect their own feelings and go
to weeding those of others, to exact much from others and lay light burdens on
themselves. A true scholar holds possession of himself, neither by riches nor
poverty forced away from his virtue.”
c. Let not a man do what his sense of
right bids him not to do, nor desire what it forbids him to desire. This is
sufficient. The skilled artist will not alter his measures for the sake of a
stupid workman.”
d. “The honour which man confers is not
true honour. Those to whom Chaou Mang gave rank, he can degrade again. He whose
good name comes from what he is, needs no trappings. The ancients cultivated
the Nobility of Heaven, leaving that of men to follow in its train. Serving
Heaven consists in nourishing the real constitution of our Being, anxious
neither about death nor life.”
e. “The great man is he who does not
lose his child-heart. He does not think beforehand that his words shall be
sincere, nor that his acts shall be resolute; he simply abides in the right.”
f. “When Heaven is about to confer a
Great Office on any man, it first disciplines his mind with suffering, and his
bones and sinews with toil. It exposes him to want and subjects him to extreme
poverty. It confounds his undertakings. By all these methods it stimulates his
mind, hardens him, and supplies his incompetencies.”
g. “Abstract good principles are not
enough to give the Kingdom peace; laws cannot execute themself. If the good and
wise be not trusted, the State will come to naught. The people are the most
important element in a State; the Ruler is the least.”
III. Sayings Of Lao-tzu
a. “There is something, chaotic yet
complete, which existed before Heaven and Earth. Oh, how still it is and
formless, standing alone without changing, reaching everywhere without
suffering harm! It must be regarded as the Mother of the Universe. Its name I
know not. To designate it I call it TAO.
Endeavouring to describe it, I call it great.”
b. “The TAO that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging TAO. He who knows the TAO does care to speak about it; he who
is ever-ready to speak about it does not know it. Those who know the TAO are not extensively learned; the
extensively learned do not know it.”
c. “The relation of TAO to all the world is like that of
the great rivers and seas to the streams from the valleys.”
d. “The TAO which can be expressed in words is not the eternal TAO; the name which can be uttered is
not its eternal name. Without a name, it is the beginning of Heaven and Earth;
with a name, it is the Mother of all things.”
e. “Only one who is eternally free from
earthly passions can apprehend the spiritual essence of TAO; he who is ever-clogged by passions can see no more than its
outer form.”
f. “These two things, the spiritual and
the material, though we call them by different names, in their origin are one
and the same. This sameness is a mystery---the mystery of mysteries. It is the
gate of all spirituality.”
g. “TAO eludes the sense of sight and is therefore called colourless.
It eludes the sense of hearing and is therefore called soundless. It eludes the
sense of touch and is therefore called incorporeal. These three qualities
cannot be apprehended, and hence they may be blended into UNITY.”
h. “The mightiest manifestation of
active force flow solely from TAO.”
i. “Its upper part is not bright, and
its lower part is not obscure. Ceaseless in action, it cannot be named, but
returns again to nothingness. We may call it the form of the formless, the
image of the imageless, the fleeting and indeterminable. Would you go before it
you cannot see its face; would you go behind it, you cannot see its back.”
j. “TAO in itself is vague, impalpable---how impalpable, how vague! Yet
within it there is Substance. How profound, how obscure! Yet within it there is
a vital Principle. This Principle is the Quintessence of Reality, and out of it
comes Truth. From of old until now, its name has never passed away. It watches
over the beginning of all things. How do I know this about the beginning of
things? Through TAO."
k. “Therefore TAO is great; Heaven is great; the Earth is great and the Sovereign
also is great. In the Universe there are four powers, of which the Sovereign is
one. Man takes his Law from the Earth; the Earth takes its Law from Heaven;
Heaven takes its Law from TAO; but the
Law of TAO is its own spontaneity.”
IV. Sayings Of Chuang-tzu
a. “TAO gives me this form, this toil in manhood, this repose in old
age, this rest in death. And surely, that which is such a kind of arbiter of my
life is the best arbiter of my death.”
b. “All things spring from germs. Under
many diverse forms, these things are ever being reproduced. Round and round, like
a wheel, no part of which is more the starting point than any other. This is
called Heavenly Equilibrium. And he who holds the scales is God.”
c. “How do I know that love of life is
not a delusion after all? How do I know but that he who dreads to die is as a
child who has lost its way and cannot find its home?”
d. “He who knows what God is, and who
knows what man is, has attained. Knowing what God is, he knows that he himself
proceeded therefrom. Knowing what man is, he rests in the knowledge of the
known, waiting for the knowledge of the unknown. Working out one’s allotted
span, and not perishing in mid-career,---this is the fullness of knowledge.”
e. “There is nothing which is not
objective; there is nothing which is not subjective. But it is impossible to
start from the objective. Only from the subjective knowledge is it possible to
proceed to objective knowledge. Hence it has been said: ‘The objective emanates from the subjective; the subjective is
consequent upon the objective. This is the Alternation Theory’.”
f. “Therefore all things are One. What
we love is animation. What we hate is corruption. But corruption in its turn
becomes animation, and animation once more becomes corruption.”
g. “When I seek for a beginning, I find
only time infinite. When I look forward to an end, I see only time infinite.
Infinity of time passed and to come implies no beginning and is in accordance
with the laws of material existences. Predestination and Chance give us a
beginning, but one which is compatible with the existence of matter.”
h. “To which the Spirit of the Ocean
replied: ’You cannot speak of ocean to a
well-frog, the creature of a narrower sphere. You cannot speak of ice to a
summer insect, a creature of a season. You cannot speak of TAO to a pedagogue; his scope is too restricted. But now that you
have emerged from your narrow sphere and have seen the great ocean, you know
your own insignificance, and I can speak to you of great principles’.”
i. “Dimensions are limitless; time is
endless. Conditions are not invariable; terms are not final. Thus the wise man
looks into space, and does not regard the small as too little, nor the great as
too much; for he knows that there is no limit to dimensions. He looks back into
the past, and does not grieve over what is far off, nor rejoice over what is
near; for he knows that time is without end. He investigates fullness and
decay, and does not rejoice if he succeeds, nor lament if he fails; for he
knows the conditions are not invariable. He who clearly apprehends the scheme
of existence does not rejoice over life, nor repine ate death; for he knows
that terms are not final.”
V.
Sayings Of Lieh Tzu
a. “There is a Creative Principle which
is itself uncreated; there is a Principle of Change which is itself unchanging.
The Uncreated is able to create life; the Unchanging is able to effect change.
That which is produced cannot but continue producing; that which is evolved
cannot but continue evolving. Hence there is constant production and constant
evolution. The law of constant production and of constant evolution at no time
ceases to operate.”
b. “In the Book of the Yellow Emperor
it is written: ‘When form becomes active
it produces not form but shadow; when sound becomes active it produces not
sound but echo’.”
