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Zhuangzi Chapter 10: Prying Open Boxes


	Translated by Nina Correa In order to prevent thieves from prying open security boxes, rifling through sacks and breaking into safes, the boxes must be bound with rope and cord or securely locked with clasps and bolts. Those sound like pretty smart things to do. Even so, a big strong thief might come along and hoist the safe on his shoulders, lift up the boxes, sling the bag over his shoulder and rush away with them, fearing only that the rope, cord, clasps and bolts wouldn't be secure enough. It seems that what everyone thinks is a smart thing to do actually only makes it easier for a big thief to accumulate more stuff. Okay, let's discuss this. What's commonly thought of as being smart doesn't take into account the idea of a really big thief! If someone had real wisdom, wouldn't they be on guard against the biggest thief of all? How can we know that's so? In the old days, in the state of Qi, people in neighboring villages could watch over each other and listen to the sounds made by their chickens and dogs. The area in which they spread their hunting nets and traps, and plowed their fields was over 2000 li square (equal to about 600 square miles). Within their four boundaries they erected communal ancestral shrines and set up district offices for the rural areas. They followed the ideas of the sages! However, Lord Tian Cheng in one day was able to kill the Duke of Qi and take over his country. As for the theft, was it only the country he stole? He also stole their wise and sagely laws. Therefore, Lord Tian Cheng might have been called a robber and thief, but he ended up resting there as comfortably as Yao and Shun. Small states didn't dare to oppose him, large states didn't dare to seek retribution, and for twelve generations his family ruled the state of Qi. They used the wise and sagely laws to guard the safety of robbers and thieves! Let's talk a little more about this. What's commonly thought of as being smart doesn't take into account the idea of a really big thief! If someone had real wisdom, wouldn't they be on guard against the biggest thief of all? How can we know that's so? In the old days, Long Feng was beheaded, Bi Gan had his heart cut out, Chang Hong was disemboweled, and Zi Xu's corpse was left to putrefy. Even though those four were worthy gentlemen, they couldn't avoid having their bodies slaughtered. When Zhi's (Robber Zhi) followers asked him: "Do thieves also have Dao?" Zhi responded: "What could possibly proceed without having Dao? Being able to quickly determine where valuables are hidden in a room - that's wisdom. By entering first - that's bravery. By leaving last - that's righteousness. Knowing when the task should be aborted - that's intelligence. Dividing up the booty - that's benevolence." One who didn't have those five attributes could never become a great thief in this world. Looking at it that way, if a person was good at something but couldn't achieve the way of a Sage, he wouldn't be able to establish himself. If Zhi couldn't achieve the way of a Sage, he wouldn't have been any good at what he did. Since there are so few good people in the world, and so many bad people, it stands to reason that the Sage's beneficial contributions to the world are few and their harmful contributions are numerous. There are some sayings: "When the lips are worn away, the teeth get cold. "When the wine of the state of Lu was diluted, Han Dan was surrounded." (Note: At a great feast in the state of Chu the Lord of Lu provided cheap wine while the Lord of Zhao provided good wine. A mischievous steward switched them, and the ruler of Chu was so offended at the poor wine that he attacked Zhao and sacked their capital city, Han Dan.) With the birth of Sages, great thieves arise. If the idea of anyone being a Sage was disregarded and ignored, the idea of great thieves would also be released and abandoned, and the world could then begin to govern itself. Rivers are run dry and valleys are forced to be empty. Hills are leveled and pits are filled up. Once the Sages have been done away with, great thieves won't arise, and the world will even everything out. If Sages aren't done away with, great thieves will be rampant. The more importance that's placed on the need for Sages to govern the world, the more benefits people like Robber Zhi will try to steal. Use dry and liquid measures to determine pecks and bushels, then pecks and bushels would be cunningly stolen. Use scales to determine hundredweights and tons, then hundredweights and tons would be cunningly stolen. Use contracts to determine payments and allotments, then payments and allotments would be cunningly stolen. Use force to try to rectify what's determined to be benevolent and righteous, then benevolence and righteousness would be cunningly stolen. How can we know that's so? By these examples: One who cunningly steals a buckle is sentenced to death. One who cunningly steals a country is made a Duke or Prince. Since it's within the realm of the Dukes and Princes that benevolence and righteousness are preserved, then aren't they cunningly stealing benevolence, righteousness, wisdom and intelligence? Therefore, one after the other the great thieves try to claim they're Dukes and Princes, cunningly stealing benevolence and righteousness right along side the pecks, bushels, hundredweights, tons, payments and allotments for their own benefit. Even though they've already been rewarded with carriages and crowns, that's not enough to get them to quit. Even if they're threatened with hatchets and axes, they still don't have the ability to resist acquiring more. Those are important benefits to people like Robber Zhi, and they just can't resist them. This can only be blamed on the Sages. There's an old saying: "A fish can't remove itself from a pond. A country's sharp weapons can't be used to teach people how to act." The Sages are like the sharp weapons of the world, but they can't add any clarity to the world. Therefore, get rid of wisdom, abandon knowledge, and only then will the great thieves stop robbing. Smash the jade, crush the pearls, and petty thieves won't arise. Burn the account books, tear up the ledgers, and people will simply assess what they have at the moment. Break apart the measuring devices, snap apart the weighing devices, and the people will no longer haggle. Abolish any remnants of what are considered to be wise laws in this world, and people can then start to discuss their own ideas with each other. Don't make restrictions on what kind of music can be played, allow all the strings of musical instruments to blend naturally on their own, put a cork in Gu Kuang's ear, and the people of the world will begin to cherish their own preferences in music. Get rid of fancy ornaments, spin the color wheel, glue shut Li Zhu's eyes, and the people of the world will begin to cherish their own clear-sightedness. Crumble to smithereens the curve and plumb line and throw away the compass and T-square, smack the back of Chui's fingers with a ruler, and the people of the world would appreciate their own artistry. There's an old saying: "Great talent seems clumsy." Wipe out all traces left by Zeng and Shi, gag the mouths of Yang and Mo, push away and discard benevolence and righteousness, and the virtues of the world would mysteriously mesh. When each person embraces their own clear-sightedness, then the world wouldn't seem so scattered. When each person embraces their own preferences in music, then the world wouldn't be boring. When each person embraces their own knowledge, then the world wouldn't be confused. When each person embraces their own virtue, then the world wouldn't feel isolated. Those people: Zeng, Shi, Yang, Mo, Music Master Kuang, Master Carpenter Chui and Li Zhu all tried to establish virtue outside of themselves, and thus threw the whole world into a chaotic mess. The world has no use for such mandates. Don't you know about the era in which only Masters attained virtue? Long ago, there was Rong Cheng (Embodiment of Success), Da Ting (Great Palace), Bo Huang (Self-appointed Official), Zhong Yang (Official Mediator), Li Lu (Disease Resistant), Li Xu (Raiser of Beautiful Horses), Xuan Yuan (Chariot Inventor), He Xu (Fire Walker), Zun Lu (Potion Distiller), Zhu Rong (Sacrificial Preacher), Fu Xi (fabled inventor and creator of the written language) and Shen Nong (a legendary pre-dynastic emperor who is said to have invented agriculture). During that time, the people tied knots in ropes to keep records, enjoyed the flavor of their food, found beauty in the clothes they wore, found pleasure in their local customs and felt secure in their homes. They visited back and forth with those in neighboring communities and listened to the sounds made by their chickens and dogs. People eventually got old and died, but didn't pay attention to each other's comings and goings. It seems that people in those times had already found a good method for governing themselves. Nowadays, in order to reach satisfaction, people feel they have to stretch out their necks and stand on tiptoe saying: "There's a virtuous Sage nearby." They pack up provisions and head off to find him. They disregard the intimate ties they've made with their families and quit their jobs. Their footprints extend beyond the borders of their own countries, and the tracks made by their carts go even further, extending for hundreds of miles. All this excess is done in a search of what's considered to be superior knowledge. If what's considered to be superior is actually knowledge, but not of Dao, then the whole world is thrown into great confusion. How can we know that's so? As knowledge increases about how best to use bows, crossbows, hunting nets and stringed arrows, then birds will fly around chaotically. As knowledge increases about how best to use hooks, bait, fishing nets and basket traps, then fish will swim about chaotically. As knowledge increases about how best to use small hunting knives, wooden traps, nets, pitfalls and cages, then animals will become chaotic in the wilderness. As more variations about how best to use knowledge, pretension, deception, prohibitions, vague discussions about philosophy, and contentious disputes about similarities and differences increases, then individuals will argue in confusion. Therefore, everything in the world would be repeatedly thrown into chaotic confusion, and the blame rests with a preference for knowledge. So, it seems like everyone in the world knows how to ask about what they don't know, but no one knows how to ask about what they already know. They know how to be opposed to what they consider to be bad, but they don't know how to be opposed to what they've already considered to be good. That's why there's so much confusion. So, by trying to contradict the brightness of the sun and moon above, inflame the essence of the mountains and rivers below, subjugate the natural gifts of the four seasons in the middle (on this earth), bring plants and insects into compliance, force all living things to conform, nothing will escape losing its naturalness. That's going too far! Utter chaos in the world is the result of a fondness for knowledge. From the Three Dynasties on down it's been this way. People easily discard and abandon all sorts of other people, yet they delightfully accept the praise they receive for being so talented at what they've done. The explanation they give is that they're indifferent to fame and take no actions to achieve it, but in reality they only get delighted by looking for meaning in the instructions they've been given. 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