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Taoism and Legalism

Introduction to Taoism and Legalism

The age of Confucius is often described as the period of the "hundred schools" of thought in ancient China. Of course, the designation of a "hundred schools" did not come about on the basis of an exact count of competing schools. Rather, it reflected a general recognition that the period was one of great ferment in the world of ideas, a time when many different points of view on politics and ethics were being brought to the fore and actively debated. Although Confucius was no doubt the single most important contributor to the intellectual debate going on at this time, he had a great many formidable opponents to challenge his views and to contribute to their development. Among the most important of these opponents were the Taoists (or the School of the Way), and the Legalists (or the School of Law). Taoism had a role to play in the shaping of the Chinese imagination and Legalism in the later evolution of the Confucian practice of government.

Note : The romanization system of Wade-Giles has been used where it appeared in the original text.

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Taoism

The Chinese word tao (pronounced "dao") means a way or a path. Confucians used the term tao to speak of the way human beings ought to behave in society. In other words, tao, for them, was an ethical or moral way. From the point of view of Taoism, however, the Confucian concept of tao was too limited. Taoists preferred to understand the tao as the Way of Nature as a whole. They believed that Confucians, by insisting on a purely human Way, exaggerated the importance of man and failed to pay attention to the lessons which Nature has to offer about time and change, gain and loss, the useful and the useless.

The basic idea of the Taoists was to enable people to realize that, since human life is really only a small part of a larger process of nature, the only human actions which ultimately make sense are those which are in accord with the flow of Nature - the Tao or the Way. Their sensitivity to the way of Nature prompted them to reject human ideas or standards which might lead to an overly assertive mode of behavior or too strong a commitment to the achievement of worldly goals. For Taoists, such unnatural assertiveness was the root cause of violence and aggression. While Confucians found moral reasons to counsel against violence and to urge rulers to govern by virtue rather than by force, many Taoists went even further and denounced violence as reflecting the ultimate ignorance of the Way of Nature.

Their solution to the problem of how human beings should behave is expressed in the typically Taoist doctrine of wu-wei or non-action. This did not mean doing absolutely nothing but doing nothing unnatural, nothing that was out of keeping with the Tao. Related to the doctrine of non-action was the idea of no desires, which meant that no one should have excessive desires because such desires are bound to cause injury both to oneself and to others.

As believers in the way of the natural, the Taoists characteristically favored the spontaneous and the simple. One of their favorite images was that of the uncarved block. Suggesting a block of wood which is uncut and uncrafted, the uncarved block is associated with an original simplicity and wholeness which is purely natural. From a Taoist point of view, Confucian concern with civilization, culture and moral cultivation reflected a bias toward artificiality and toward unnecessary and arbitrary distinctions. Since morality came into being only after distinctions began to be made by human beings, and among them, it is far inferior to spontaneous conformity to the Tao.

What Confucians regarded as essential to being human - the practice of ritual - the Taoists saw as just so much contrivance and arrogant insistence on the man-made as opposed to the natural. They advocated that, rather than dwelling on the practice of ritual, each individual should cultivate his own te, the virtue or power that is received from the Tao.

In addition to being unsympathetic to the Confucian idea of ritual, the Taoists tended also to be mistrustful of that other great human invention, language. This was perhaps because they realized that all those who speak are locked in time and confined to a particular human identity. What was needed, from their point of view, was not logical argument or the arts of persuasion, but quiet attunement to the rhythms and cycles of nature and to the process of change.

One of the most important figures in the shaping of classical Taoism is that of Lao Tzu, which simply means "the elder" or "the old man." Nothing certain is known of him. Some accounts of Lao Tzu suggest that he lived in the sixth century B.C. and that Confucius actually visited him in search of philosophical advice. However, there is no real evidence to support this view, and recent historians have tended to believe that most of the stories surrounding him are purely legendary. One legend about Lao Tzu has it that toward the end of his life he left China for the West. As he was passing through the gates at the border, the gatekeeper begged him to write something to leave behind. Complying with this request, Lao Tzu is supposed to have written the eighty-one chapters of a book called the Tao-te ching, one translation of which is The Way and Its Power.

Whether or not this book was actually written by Lao Tzu or, as many have argued, by several different authors, is not known. More important is the fact that it has fascinated, mystified, and inspired people in China and more recently in the West, over the course of many centuries.

The same sort of mystery surrounds the work of Chuang Chou or Chuang Tzu, the other great contributor to early Taoism. Chuang Tzu was in all likelihood an historical figure who lived in the third century B.C. While he cannot have written the entire book which bears his name, he is credited with at least seven of its thirty-three chapters. It is by almost anyone's standards one of the greatest works of world literature. In the Chuang Tzu, wit, humor and playfulness combine with a spirituality which is at once earthy and sublime.

As you read the following selections from the Tao-te ching and Chuang Tzu, try to assess the ways in which the Taoists departed from the philosophy of Confucius. We have discussed Confucianism and Taoism here as different "ways." Yet these two ways, rather than being altogether incompatible with one another, may also be understood as mutually complementary. Can you imagine how both philosophies might have had an appeal for some of the same people in different aspects of their lives?

From the Tao-te Ching

The following translations are adapted from Lao-Tzu: "My words are very easy to understand." Lectures on the Tao Teh Ching, by Man-jan Cheng, translated from the Chinese by Tam C. Gibbs. (Richmond, CA: North Atlantic Books, 1981).

  1. The tao that can be said is not the everlasting Tao.
    If a name can be named, it is not the everlasting Name.
    That which has no name is the origin of heaven and earth;
    That which has a name is the Mother of all things.
    Thus, if always without desire, one can observe
    indescribable marvels;
    If always desirous, one sees merest traces.
    Those two come from the same source but are
    differently named.
    Both are called Mysterious.
    The mystery of the Mysterious is the gateway to all
    indescribable marvels.
  1. Not honoring men of worth keeps the people from competing;
    Not wanting rare things keeps the people from thievery;
    Not paying attention to the desirable keeps the hearts of the people
    from disaster.
    This is why the Sage governs himself by
    relaxing the mind,
    reinforcing the abdomen,
    gentling the will,
    strengthening the bones.
    Always cause the people to be without knowledge or desires;
    Cause the intelligent ones to not dare act.
    Let there be Non-action
    And there is nothing that will not be well-regulated.
  1. Heaven and earth are not humane,
    treating the myriad things as straw dogs.
    The Sage is not humane,
    treating the people as straw dogs.
    The space between heaven and earth is like a bellows,
    empty and yet inexhaustible;
    Move it and even more comes out.
    Too many words quickly exhaust;
    It is not as good as holding to the center.
  1. Heaven is long lasting and earth is enduring.
    The reason why heaven and earth can live long and endure
    is that they do not live only for themselves.
    Therefore, they can produce perpetually.
    This is why the Sage puts himself behind yet ends up ahead,
    Considers himself an outsider yet finds himself in the mainstream.
    Is it not because he is selfless that his Self can be realized?
  1. The best attitude is like water.
    Water is a positive benefit to all things without
    competing with them.
    It seeks out those places abominated by man.
    Thereby, it approaches the Tao.
    For one's dwelling, choose ground well.
    In cultivating one's mind/heart, search the deeps well.
    In dealing with people, treat them well.
    In speaking, know how to keep one's word.
    In governing, rectify the self well.
    In serving, do one's best.
    In acting, choose the time well.
    Only by not competing can one be without reproach.
  1. Favor and disgrace are both alarming.
    Treat great calamities as if they were happening to yourself.
    What does "favor and disgrace are both alarming" mean?
    When favor is conferred upon a lowly position,
    it is like a shock.
    And when it is taken away, it is like a shock.
    This is what is spoken of as "Favor and grace are
    both alarming."
    What does this mean:
    "Treat calamities as if they were happening to yourself"?
    I am able to feel great calamities because I have a self.
    If I have no self, what calamity is there?
    Therefore, only one who values himself as he values
    the world is fit to be entrusted with the world.
    Only one who loves the world as he loves himself
    is worthy of being the trustee of the world.

    Attain utmost emptiness.
    Maintain profound tranquillity.
    All things are stirring about.
    I watch their cycle.
    Things flourish, and each returns to its root.
    Returning to the root is called tranquillity;
    This is what is meant by returning to one's basic nature.
    Returning to one's basic nature is called constancy.
    To understand constancy is called enlightening.
    Not to understand constancy is blindly to do unfortunate things.
    Understanding constancy, one gains a capacity for forbearance.
    If forbearing, one can be impartial.
    If impartial, one can, be a king.
    If one is a king, he can communicate with heaven.
    To communicate with heaven is to be in accord with the Tao.
    If in accord with the Tao, one is everlasting.
    And even though his body ceases to be, he is not destroyed.
  1. Divorce wisdom and abandon intelligence,
    And the people will benefit a hundred-fold.
    Divorce humanity and abandon righteousness,
    And the people will return to filial piety and compassion.
    Divorce shrewdness and abandon profit,
    And there will be no thieves.
    I believe these three statements show that words are inadequate.
    The people should be made to adhere to these principles:
    "Look to simplicity; cleave to the uncarved block;
    Diminish self and curb desires.
  1. Tao is always without a name.
    Small as it may be as the uncarved block,
    It is inferior to no power in the world.
    If a ruler can cleave to it,
    All beings will pay homage to him.
    Heaven and earth mingle in harmony and a sweet liquor
    rains down.
    Without command from above peace and order spread
    among the people.
    With the genesis of the world, names appeared.
    There are so many names, is it not time to stop?
    Knowing when to stop is to be free from danger.
    Tao is to the world as rivers and oceans are to brooks
    and valleys.
  1. The great Tao is so all pervasive, how can we tell where its right or left is?
    All things depend on it for growth, and it requires nothing from them.
    It accomplishes its work, but makes no claim for itself.
    It clothes and feeds all, but does not control them.
    Everlasting Non-desire is called "the lesser."
    That all things return to it and yet it does not control
    them is called "the Greater."
    Because it never insists on its greatness,
    Its greatness becomes a reality.

The following translations are adapted from D.C. Lau, in Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1963).

  1. Govern the state by being straightforward; wage war
    by being crafty; but win the empire by not being
    meddlesome.
    How do I know that it is like that? By means of this.
    The more taboos there are in the empire
    The poorer the people;
    The more sharpened tools the people have
    The more benighted the state;
    The more skills the people have
    The further novelties multiply;
    The better known the laws and edicts
    The more thieves and robbers there are.
    Hence the sage says,
    I take no action and the people are rectified of
    themselves;
    I prefer stillness and the people are rectified of
    themselves;
    I am not meddlesome and the people prosper of
    themselves;
    I am free from desire and the people of themselves
    become simple like the uncarved block.
  1. The whole world says that my way is vast and resembles nothing. It is because it is vast that it resembles nothing. If it resembled anything it would, long before now, have become small.
    I have three treasures
    Which I hold and cherish.
    The first is known as compassion,
    The second is known as frugality,
    The third is known as not daring to take the lead in the empire;
    Being compassionate one could afford to be courageous;
    Being frugal one could afford to extend one's territory;
    Not daring to take the lead in the empire one could
    afford to be lord over the vessels (i.e., officials).
    Now, to forsake compassion for courage, to forsake
    frugality for expansion, to forsake the rear for the
    lead, is sure to end in death.
    Through compassion, one will triumph in attack and be impregnable in defence. What heaven succors it protects with the gift of compassion.

From the Chuang Tzu

The following translations are from Burton Watson in The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu (New York: Columbia University Press, 1968).

A) "Free and Easy Wandering," from Chapter 1

  1. Hui Tzu (1) said to Chang Tzu, "The king Wei gave me some seeds of a huge gourd. I planted them, and when they grew up, the fruit was big enough to hold five piculs. I tried using it for a water container, but it was so heavy I couldn't lift it. I split it in half to make dippers, but they were so large and unwieldy that I couldn't dip them into anything. It's not that the gourds weren't fantastically big but I decided they were no use and so I smashed them to pieces."

    Chuang Tzu said, "You certainly are dense when it comes to using big things! In Sung there was a man who was skilled at making a salve to prevent chapped hands, and generation after generation his family made a living by bleaching silk in water. A traveler heard about the salve and offered to buy the prescription for a hundred measures of gold. The man called everyone to a family council. For generations we've been bleaching silk and we've never made more than a few measures of gold," he said. "Now, if we sell our secret, we can make a hundred measures in one morning. Let's let him have it!" The traveler got the salve and introduced it to the king of Wu, who was having trouble with the state of Yueh. The king put the man in charge of his troops, and that winter they fought a naval battle with the men of Yueh and gave them a bad beating. A portion of the conquered territory was awarded to the man as a fief. The salve had the power to prevent chapped hands in either case; but one man used it to get a fief, while the other one never got beyond silk bleaching - because they used it in different ways. Now you had a gourd big enough to hold five piculs. Why didn't you think of making it into a great tub so you could go floating around the rivers and lakes, instead of worrying because it was too big and unwieldy to dip into things! Obviously you still have a lot of underbrush in your head!"

    Hui Tzu said to Chuang Tzu, "I have a big tree of the kind men call shu. Its trunk is too gnarled and bumpy to apply a measuring line to, its branches too bent and twisty to match up to a compass or square. You could stand it by the road and no carpenter would look at it twice. Your words, too, are big and useless, and so everyone alike spurns them!"

    Chuang Tzu said, "Maybe you've never seen a wildcat or a weasel. It crouches down and hides, watching for something to come along. It leaps and races east and west, not hesitating to go high or low - until it falls into the trap and dies in the net. Then again there's the yak, big as a cloud covering the sky. It certainly knows how to be big, though it doesn't know how to catch rats. Now you have this big tree and you're distressed because it's useless. Why don't you plant it in Not-Even-Anything Village, or the field of Broad-and-Boundless, relax and do nothing by its side, or lie down for a free and easy sleep under it? Axes will never shorten its life, nothing can ever harm it. If there's no use for it, how can it come to grief or pain?

    B) "Discussion on Making all things Equal," from Chapter 2

  2. What is acceptable we call acceptable; what is unacceptable we call unacceptable. A road is made by people walking on it; things are so because they are called so. What makes them so? Making them so makes them so. What makes them not so? Making them not so makes them not so. Things all must have that which is so; things all must have that which is acceptable. There is nothing that is not so, nothing that is not acceptable.

    For this reason, whether you point to a little stalk or a great pillar, a leper or the beautiful Hsi-shih, things ribald and shady or things grotesque and strange, the Way makes them all into one. Their dividedness is their completeness; their completeness is their impairment. No thing is either complete or impaired, but all are made into one again. Only the man of far-reaching vision knows how to make them into one. So he has no use [for categories], but relegates all to the constant. The constant is the useful; the useful is the passable; the passable is the successful; and with success, all is accomplished. He relies upon this alone, relies upon it and does not know he is doing so. This is called the Way.

    But to wear out your brain trying to make things into one without realizing that they are all the same - this is called "three in the morning." What do I mean by "three in the morning"? When the monkey trainer was handing out acorns, he said, "You get three in the morning and four at night." This made all the monkeys furious. "Well, then," he said, "you get four in the morning and three at night." The monkeys were all delighted. There was no change in the reality behind the words, and yet the monkeys responded with joy and anger. Let them, if they want to. So the sage harmonizes with both right and wrong and rests in Heaven the Equalizer. This is called walking two roads.

    The understanding of the men of ancient times went a long way. How far did it go? To the point where some of them believed that things have never existed - so far, to the end, where nothing can be added. Those at the next stage thought that things exist but recognized no boundaries among them. Those at the next stage thought there were boundaries but recognized no right and wrong. Because right and wrong appeared, the Way was injured, and because the Way was injured, love became complete. But do such things as completion and injury really exist, or do they not?

  3. Chu Ch'uch-tzu said to Chang Wu-tzu, "I have heard Confucius say that the sage does not work at anything, does not pursue profit, does not dodge harm, does not enjoy being sought after, does not follow the Way, says nothing yet says something, says something yet says nothing, and wanders beyond the dust and grime. Confucius himself regarded these as wild and flippant words, though I believe they describe the working of the mysterious Way. What do you think of them?"

    Chang Wu-tzu said, "Even the Yellow Emperor would be confused if he heard such words, so how could you expect Confucius to understand them? What's more, you're too hasty in your own appraisal. You see an egg and demand a crowing cock, see a crossbow pellet and demand a roast dove. I'm going to try speaking some reckless words and I want you to listen to them recklessly. How will that be? The sage leans on the sun and moon, tucks the universe under his arm, merges himself with things, leaves the confusion and muddle as it is, and looks on slaves as exalted. Ordinary men strain and struggle; the sage is stupid and blockish. He takes part in ten thousand ages and achieves simplicity in oneness. For him, all the ten thousand things are what they are, and thus they enfold each other.

    "How do I know that loving life is not a delusion? How do I know that in hating death I am not like a man who, having left home in his youth, has forgotten the way back?

    "Lady Li was the daughter of the border guard of Ai. (2) When she was first taken captive and brought to the state of Chin, she wept until her tears drenched the collar of her robe. But later, when she went to live in the palace of the ruler, shared his couch with him, and ate the delicious meats of his table, she wondered why she had ever wept. How do I know that the dead do not wonder why they ever longed for life?

    "He who dreams of drinking wine may weep when morning comes; he who dreams of weeping may in the morning go off to hunt. While he is dreaming he does not know it is a dream, and in his dream he may even try to interpret a dream. Only after he wakes does he know it was a dream. And someday there will be a great awakening when we know that this is all a great dream. Yet the stupid believe they are awake, busily and brightly assuming they understand things, calling this man ruler, that one herdsman - how dense! Confucius and you are both dreaming! And when I say you are dreaming, I am dreaming, too. Words like these will be labeled the Supreme Swindle. Yet, after ten thousand generations, a great sage may appear who will know their meaning, and it will still be as though he appeared with astonishing speed.

    "Suppose you and I have had an argument. If you have beaten me instead of my beating you, then are you necessarily right and am I necessarily wrong? If I have beaten you instead of your beating we, then am I necessarily right and are you necessarily wrong? Is one of us right and the other wrong? Are both of us right or are both of us wrong? If you and I don't know the answer, then other people are bound to be even more in the dark. Whom shall we get to decide what is right? Shall we get someone who agrees with you to decide? But if he already agrees with you, how can he decide fairly? Shall we get someone who agrees with me? But if he already agrees with me, how can he decide? Shall we get someone who disagrees with both of us? But if he already disagrees with both of us, how can he decide? Shall we get someone who agrees with both of us? But if he already agrees with both of us, how can he decide? Obviously, then, neither you nor I nor anyone else can decide for each other. Shall we wait for still another person?

    "But waiting for one shifting voice [to pass judgment on] another is the same as waiting for none of them. Harmonize them all with the Heavenly Equality, leave them to their endless changes, and so live out your years. What do I mean by harmonizing them with the Heavenly Equality? Right is not right; so is not so. If right were really right, it would differ so clearly from not right that there would be no need for argument. If so were really so, it would differ so clearly from not so that there would be no need for argument. Forget the years; forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home!"

  4. Once Chuang Chou dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know he was Chuang Chou. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Chuang Chou. But he didn't know if he was Chuang Chou who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Chuang Chou. Between Chuang Chou and a butterfly there must be some distinction! This is called the Transformation of Things.

  5. Your life has a limit but knowledge has none. If you use what is limited to pursue what has no limit, you will be in danger. If you understand this and still strive for knowledge, you will in danger for certain! If you do good, stay away from fame, If you do evil, stay away from punishments. Follow the middle; go by what is constant, and you can stay in one piece, keep yourself alive, look after your parents, and live out your years.

    Cook Ting was cutting up an ox for Lord Wen-hui. At every touch of his hand, every heave of his shoulder, every move of his feet, every thrust of his knee - zip! zoop! He slithered the knife along with a zing, and all was in perfect rhythm, as though he were performing the dance of the Mulberry Grove or keeping time to the Ching-shou music.

    "Ah, this is marvelous!" said Lord Wen-hui. "Imagine skill reaching such heights!"

    Cook Ting laid down his knife and replied, "What I care about is the Way, which goes beyond skill. When I first began cutting up oxen, all I could see was the ox itself After three years I no longer saw the whole ox. And now - now I go at it by spirit and don't look with my eyes. Perception and understanding have come to a stop and spirit moves where it wants. I go along with the natural makeup, strike in the big hollows, guide the knife through the big openings, and follow things as they are. So I never touch the smallest ligament or tendon, much less a main joint.

    "A good cook changes his knife once a year - because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his knife one a month - because he hacks. I've had this knife of mine for nineteen years and have cut up thousands of oxen with it, and yet the blade is as good as though it had just come from the grindstone. There are spaces between the joints, and the blade of the knife has really no thickness. If you insert what has no thickness into such spaces, then there's plenty of room - more than enough for the blade to play about it. That's why after nineteen years the blade of my knife is still as good as when it first came from the grindstone.

    "However, whenever I come to a complicated place, I size up the difficulties, tell myself to watch out and be careful, keep my eyes on what I'm doing, work very slowly, and move the knife with the greatest subtlety, until flop! The whole thing comes apart like a clod of earth crumbling to the ground. I stand there holding the knife and look all around me, completely satisfied and reluctant to move on, and then I wipe off the knife and put it away."

    "Excellent!" said Lord Wen-hui. "I have heard the words of Cook Ting and learned how to care for life!"

  6. When Lao Tan (3) died, Ch'in Shih went to mourn for him; but after giving three cries, he left the room.

    "Weren't you a friend of the Master?" asked Lao Tzu's disciples.
    "Yes."
    "And you think it's all right to mourn him this way?"
    "Yes," said Ch'in Shih. "At first I took him for a real man, but now I know he wasn't. A little while ago, when I went in to mourn, I found old men weeping for him as though they were weeping for a son, and young men weeping for him as though they were weeping for a mother. To have gathered a group like that, he must have done something to make them talk about him, though he didn't ask them to talk, or make them weep for him, though he didn't ask them to weep. This is to hide from Heaven, turn your back on the true state of affairs, and forget what you were born with. In the old days, this was called the crime of hiding from Heaven. Your master happened to come because it was his time, and he happened to leave because things follow along. If you are content with the time and willing to follow along, then grief and joy have no way to enter in. In the old days, this was called being freed from the bonds of God.

    "Though the grease burns out of the torch, the fire passes on, and no one knows where it ends."

    C) "The Great and Venerable Teacher," from Chapter 6

  7. Master Ssu, Master Yu, Master Li, and Master Lai were all four talking together. "Who can look upon nonbeing as his head, on life as his back, and on death as his rump?" they said. "Who knows that life and death, existence and annihilation, are all a single body? I will be his friend!"

    The four men looked at each other and smiled. There was no disagreement in their hearts and so the four of them became friends.

    All at once Master Yu fell ill. Master Ssu went to ask how he was. "Amazing!" said Master Yu. "The Creator is making me all crookedy like this! My back sticks up like a hunchback and my vital organs are on top of me. My chin is hidden in my navel, my shoulders are up above my head, and my pigtail points at the sky. It must be some dislocation of the yin and yang!"

    Yet he seemed calm at heart and unconcerned. Dragging himself haltingly to the well, he looked at his reflection and said, "My, my! So the Creator is making me all crookedy like this!"

    "Do you resent it?" asked Master Ssu.

    "Why no, what would I resent? If the process continues, perhaps in time he'll transform my left arm into a rooster. In that case I'll keep watch on the night. Or perhaps in time he'll transform my right arm into a crossbow pellet and "I'll shoot down an owl for roasting. Or perhaps in time he'll transform my buttocks into cartwheels. Then, with my spirit for a horse, I'll climb up and go for a ride. What need will I ever have for a carriage again?"

    "I received life because the time had come; I will lose it because the order of things passes on. Be content with this time and dwell in this order and then neither sorrow nor joy can touch you. In ancient times this was called the "freeing of the bound." There are those who cannot free themselves, because they are bound by things. But nothing can ever win against Heaven - that's the way it's always been. What would I have to resent?"

    Suddenly Master Lai grew ill. Gasping and wheezing, he lay at the point of death. His wife and children gathered round in a circle and began to cry. Master Li, who had come to ask how he was, said, "Shoo! Get back! Don't disturb the process of change!"

    Then he leaned against the doorway and talked to Master Lai. "How marvelous the Creator is! What is he going to make of you next? Where is he going to send you? Will he make you into a rat's liver? Will he make you into a bug's arm?"

    Master Lai said, "A child, obeying his father and mother, goes wherever he is told, east or west, south or north. And the yin and yang - how much more are they to a man than father or mother! Now that they have brought me to the verge of death, if I should refuse to obey them, how perverse I would be! What fault is it of theirs? The Great Clod burdens me with form, labors me with life, eases me in old age, and rests me in death. So if I think well of my life, for the same reason I must think well of my death. When a skilled smith is casting metal, if the metal should leap up and say, "I insist upon being made into a Mo-yeh!," (4) he would surely regard it as very inauspicious metal indeed. Now, having had the audacity to take on human form once, if I should say, "I don't want to be anything but a man! Nothing but a man!" The Creator would surely regard me as a most inauspicious sort of person. So now I think of heaven and earth as a great furnace, and the Creator as a skilled smith. Where could he send me that would not be all right? I will go off to sleep peacefully, and then with a start I will wake up."

1 The logician Hui Shih who, as pointed out by Waley, in the Chuang Tzu "stands for intellectuality as opposed to imagination."

2 She was taken captive by Duke Hsien of Qin (Chin) in 671 B.C., and later became his consort.

3 Lao Tzu, the reputed author of the Tao-te-ching.

4 A famous sword of King Ho-lu (r. 514-496 B.C.) of Wu.

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Discussion Questions

  1. Much of the Tao-te ching seems to be concerned with offering advice to rulers about how to govern. If you were a ruler and followed Lao Tzu's advice, what kind of ruler would you be?
  2. In Chapter 5 of the Tao-te ching we are told that the sage is "not humane." This suggests quite a different view of the sage from the one we saw in the Analects. Can you think of why a Taoist might think that a sage should not be humane?
  3. How do you understand the idea of wu-wei or non-action? How and why does Lao Tzu believe it will work?
  4. One of the central insights of the Chuang Tzu is that the distinctions that human beings regularly draw are based on confusion or ignorance. This goes for the distinctions usually made between right and wrong, good and evil, useful and useless, and even life and death. Chuang Tzu constantly urges us to shift viewpoints and to see things from another perspective - to consider the possibility of a different identity, to view life from the standpoint of death. Why do you think he recommends this course? Do you think he completely rejects morality in doing so? Why or why not?
  5. What elements in Taoist thought seem to you most different from Confucianism? Are there areas of human life and experience which Confucianism might fail to deal with and which might be better dealt with by Taoism? If so, what are they?
  6. From what you have read about Taoism, do you think Taoism itself could have existed as a complete philosophy of life if there had been no Confucianism to relate to and criticize?

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Legalism

Though some of the Legalists borrowed certain ideas from the Taoists, they used Taoist ideas for completely different purposes, and the two philosophies were generally in conflict with one another. Most of the famous Legalists of ancient China were advisers to rulers who were bent on organizing society on a rational basis and finding means to strengthen their states agriculturally and militarily. Instead of being devoted to conformity to the processes of nature, the Legalists were interested in the deconformity which could be imposed through government institutions. They devised elaborate means for controlling people's lives and actions through laws and punishments.

The advice these Legalists gave tended in the direction of regulating every aspect of people's lives so that they would have the discipline to work hard in the fields and fight hard on the battlefields. Many of the laws they recommended were extremely harsh. In the state of Ch'in, where Legalist advisers were most influential, rewards might be generous, but death and mutilation wee often the order of the day.

You will read in other sections about the monumental achievements of the Ch'in dynasty in unifying China for the first time and extending its military influence over an enormous geographical area. When it comes to the influence of Legalist thinking, the striking thing is that the Chinese until recent times drew one historical lesson from the rise and fall of the Ch'in: the limits of force. It was widely recognized that force was necessary to unify the state and to mobilize society. Yet many people were convinced that the brutality of Ch'in rule was what undermined it in the end. Many of the Legalists presented law as an alternative to morality -a more reliable means of ensuring a disciplined and cohesive society. It was this resort to law as distinct from morality that aroused widespread misgivings in later times. As they reflected on the harshness of Ch'in rule and the bleakness of Legalist ideas about human nature, many Chinese were convinced that it is easier to make laws to compel people to behave in certain ways than to inspire them to behave morally but that, over the long run, law without morality is a weak basis for a stable society. Largely because of this experience in their early history, the relation between force and persuasion, between law and morality, has been for centuries a problem of intense interest to the Chinese people. It remains a central problem right down to the present day.

The Legalist tradition in ancient China culminated in the thought of Han Fei, who lived in the third century B.C. Han Fei served for a time at the Ch'in court but was put to death in 233 B.C. in a plot instigated by his one-time friend, Li Ssu, a chief minister to the first emperor of the Ch'in. As you read the following selections from his writings, try to assess the nature of his critique of Confucianism and to evaluate what elements in this brand of Legalism would have been most at odds with Confucian ideas.

From the Han Fei Tzu

The following translation is from Sources of Chinese Tradition (New York: Columbia University Press, 1960).

I. From Chapter 50: "On the Dominant Systems of Learning"

Those who are ignorant about government insistently say: "Win the hearts of the people." If order could be procured by winning the hearts of the people, then even the wise ministers Yi Yin and Kuan Chung would be of no use. For all that the ruler would need to do would be to listen to the people. Actually, the intelligence of the people is not to be relied upon any more than the mind of a baby. If the baby does not have his head shaved, his sores will recur; if he does not have his boil cut open, his illness will go from bad to worse. However, in order to shave his head or open the boil someone has to hold the baby while the affectionate mother is performing the work, and yet he keeps crying and yelling incessantly. The baby does not understand that suffering a small pain is the way to obtain a great benefit.

Now, the sovereign urges the tillage of land and the cultivation of pastures for the purpose of increasing production for the people, but they think the sovereign is cruel. The sovereign regulates penalties and increases punishments for the purpose of repressing the wicked, but the people think the sovereign is severe. Again, he levies taxes in cash and in grain to fill up the granaries and treasuries in order to relieve famine and provide for the army, but they think the sovereign is greedy. Finally, he insists upon universal military training without personal favoritism, and urges his forces to fight hard in order to take the enemy captive, but the people think the sovereign is violent. These four measures are methods for attaining order and maintaining peace, but the people are too ignorant to appreciate them.

The reason for the ruler to look for wise and well-informed men is that the intelligence of the people is not such as to be respected or relied upon. For instance, in ancient times, when Yu opened the rivers and deepened them, the people gathered tiles and stones (to hit him); when the prime minister of Cheng, Tzu Ch'an, cleared the fields and planted mulberry trees, the people of Cheng slandered and reviled him. Yu benefited the whole empire and Tzu Ch'an preserved the state of Cheng, but each incurred slander thereby. Clearly the intelligence of the people is not to be relied upon. Therefore, to seek for the worthy and the wise in selecting officials and to endeavor to suit the people in administering the government are equally the cause of chaos and not the means for attaining order.

II. From Chapter 49: "The Five Vermin of the State"

In the age of remote antiquity human beings were few while birds and beasts were many, and men were unable to overcome birds, beasts, insects, and serpents. Thereupon a sage arose who fastened trees and branches together and made nests, and all harm was thereby avoided. At this the people were delighted and they made him ruler of the whole world, according to him the title "Nest-Builder." Again, the people in those days lived on the fruits of trees and seeds of grass as well as on mussels and clams which smelled rank and fetid and hurt the digestive organs, and many of the people were afflicted with diseases. Thereupon a sage arose who drilled a piece of wood and produced fire (for cooking), and the fetid and musty smell was thereby transformed. At this the people were delighted and they made him ruler of the whole world, according to him the title "Fire-Maker." In the age of middle antiquity, there was a great deluge in the world, and Kun and his son, Yu, opened channels for the water. In the age of recent antiquity, Chieh and Chou were wicked and disorderly, and T'ang and Wu punished them.

Now, if somebody tried to fasten the trees or drill a piece of wood in the age of the Hsia dynasty, he would certainly be ridiculed by Kun and Yu. Again, if somebody attempted to open channels for water in the age of the Yin and Chou dynasties, he would certainly be ridiculed by T'ang and Wu. For the same reason, if somebody in this present age should praise the ways of Yao and Shun, Kun and Yu, T'ang and Wu, he would certainly be ridiculed by contemporary sages. Hence the sage does not seek to follow the ways of the ancients, nor does he regard precedents as the rule. He examines the circumstances of his own time and plans his course of action accordingly.

There was once a man of Sung who tilled his field. In the midst of his field stood the stump of a tree, and one day a hare, running at full speed, bumped into the stump, broke its neck, and died. Thereupon the man left his plow and kept watch at the stump, hoping that he would get another hare. But he never caught another hare, and was only ridiculed by the people of Sung. Now those who try to rule the people of the present age with the conduct of government of the early kings are all doing exactly the same thing as that fellow who kept watch by the stump....

When Yao held the empire, his reed thatch was left untrimmed and his roofbeams were not planed. The unhusked kernels of cereals were his food and wild greens made his soup. In winter he wore deerskins, and in summer a garment of rough fiber-cloth. Even the food and clothing of a gate-keeper were no worse than his. When Yu held the empire, he worked with the plow and the spade personally so as to set an example to his people till his thighs were without fat and his shins without hair. Even the toil of the servant and slave was not more arduous than his. Such being the case, the ancient emperors who abdicated their thrones were, as a matter of fact, relinquishing but the lot of the gate-keeper and parting but with the toil of the slave. Therefore even though they gave up their empire, there was nothing especially praiseworthy. Nowadays, on the contrary, after even a mere district magistrate dies, his descendants can maintain private carriages for many generations. Hence people value such an office. Thus in the matter of giving up something, people found it easy to abdicate the throne in ancient times, yet find it hard to relinquish the post of a present-day district magistrate. This is because the advantages in each case are so different.

Now, people who dwell in the mountains and have to draw water from the gorges give water to each other as a gift at festivals; those who live in swamps and are troubled with too much water hire laborers to open channels for it. Likewise, in the spring following a year of famine one is unable to feed one's younger brother, while in the autumn of a year of plenty even casual visitors are offered food. Not that men neglect their blood relations and love passers-by, but that the material provisions on the respective occasions are so different. Hence the ancient indifference to goods was not due to humanity, but to the abundance of goods. Nor are the present-day struggles for possession due to niggardliness but to the scarcity of goods. Men used to decline the position of the emperor lightly, and this was not because of any inner nobility but because the power of the emperor was limited. Men now strive fiercely for the portfolios in government, and this is not because of any natural meanness but because the authority of the posts is great. Therefore the sage considers the condition of the times, whether it is one of plenty or scarcity, abundance or meagerness, and governs the people accordingly. Thus though penalties are light, it is not due to charity; though punishment is heavy, it is not due to cruelty. Whatever is done is done in accordance with the circumstances of the age. Therefore circumstances go according to their time, and the course of action is planned in accordance with the circumstances...

Indeed, ancients and moderns have different customs: the present and the past follow different courses of action. To attempt to apply a benevolent and lenient government to the people of a desperate age is about the same as trying to drive wild horses without reins or whips. This is the affliction of ignorance....

Now take a young fellow who is a bad character. His parents may get angry at him, but he never makes any change. The villagers may reprove him, but he is not moved. His teachers and elders may admonish him, but he never reforms. The love of his parents, the efforts of the villagers, and the wisdom of his teachers and elders - all the three excellent disciplines are applied to him, and yet not even a hair on his shins is altered. It is only after the district magistrate sends out his soldiers and in the name of the law searches for wicked individuals that the young man becomes afraid and changes his ways and alters his deeds. So while the love of parents is not sufficient to discipline the children, the severe penalties of the district magistrate are. This is because men became naturally spoiled by love, but are submissive to authority...

That being so, rewards should be rich and certain so that people will be attracted by them; punishments should be severe and definite so that the people will fear them; and laws should be uniform and steadfast so that the people will be familiar with them. Consequently, the sovereign should show no wavering in bestowing rewards and grant no pardon in administering punishments, and he should add honor to rewards and disgrace to punishmen t-- when this is done, then both the worthy and the unworthy will want to exert themselves....

The literati by means of letters upset laws; the cavaliers by means of their prowess transgress prohibitions. Yet the ruler treats them both with decorum. This is actually the cause of all the disorder. Every departure from the law ought to be apprehended, and yet scholars are nevertheless taken into office on account of their literary learning. Again, the transgression of every prohibition ought to be censured, and yet cavaliers are patronized because of their readiness to draw the sword. Thus, those whom the law reproves turn out to be those whom the ruler employs, and those whom the magistrates suppress are those whom the sovereign patronizes. Thus legal standard and personal inclination as well as ruler and ministers are sharply opposed to each other and all fixed standards are lost. Then, even if there were ten Yellow Emperors, they would not be able to establish any order. Therefore, those who practice humanity and righteousness should not be upheld, for if upheld, they would hinder concrete accomplishments. Again, those who specialize in refinement and learning should not be employed, for if employed, they would disturb the laws. There was in Ch'u an upright man named Kung who, when his father stole a sheep, reported it to the authorities. The magistrate said: "Put him to death," as he thought the man was faithful to the ruler but disloyal to his father. Again, there was a man of Lu who followed his ruler to war, fought three battles, and ran away three times. Confucius interrogated him. The man replied: "I have an old father. Should I die, nobody would take care of him." Confucius regarded him as virtuous in filial piety, commended and exalted him.(1) From this we can see that the dutiful son of the father was a rebellious subject to the ruler. Naturally, following the censure of the honest man by the magistrate, no more culprits in Ch'u were reported to the authorities; and following the reward of the runaway by Confucius, the people of Lu were prone to surrender and run away. The interests of superior and subordinate being so different, it would be hopeless for any ruler to try to exalt the deeds of private individuals and, at the same time, to promote the public welfare of the state...

Now the people in the state all talk about proper government. Practically every family keeps copies of the Laws of Shang Yang and Kuan Chung, and yet the state is becoming poorer and poorer. This is because many talk about farming but few follow the plow. Again, people in the state all talk about warfare. Practically every family keeps copies of the books of Sun Wu and Wu Ch'i on the art of war, and yet the army is becoming weaker and weaker. This is because many talk about warfare but few put on armor.

The enlightened sovereign therefore employs a man's energies but does not heed his words, rewards men with meritorious services but without fail bans the useless. Accordingly, the people exert themselves to the utmost in obeying their superiors. Farming is hard toil indeed. Yet people attend to it because they think this is the way to riches. Similarly, warfare is a risky business. Yet people carry it on because they think this is the road to honor. Now if one could just cultivate refinement and learning and practice persuasion and speech, and thereby obtain the fruits of wealth without the toil of farming and receive ranks of honor without the risk of warfare, then who would not do the same? Naturally a hundred men will be attending to learning where one will apply his physical energies. When many attend to learning, the law will come to naught; when few apply their physical energies, the state will fall into poverty. That is the reason why the world is in chaos.

In the state ruled by an enlightened sovereign, one would find no recorded literature and the law would supply the only instruction; one would find no injunctions from the early kings and the magistrates would serve as the only instructors; one would find no (esteem for) bravery in achieving private vengeance, and killing of the enemy would be regarded as the only courageous deed. As a result, the people in the state would all conform to the law in their discourse, would aim at meritorious achievement in their actions, and would offer their services to the army out of bravery. Therefore, in time of peace the state would be rich; in time of war the army would be strong. These might be called the "kingly resources." When the "kingly resources" were stored up, the sovereign could avail himself of any situation that might arise in the state of the enemy...

This then is the customary experience of a disorderly state: the learned men will exalt the ways of the early kings and make a show of humanity and righteousness. They will adorn their manners and clothes and embroider their arguments and speeches so as to scatter doubts on the law of the age and beguile the mind of the sovereign. The itinerant speakers will advocate deceptive theories and utilize foreign influence to accomplish their selfish purposes, being unmindful of the benefit of the state. The free-lance fighters will gather pupils and followers and set up standards of fidelity and discipline, hoping thereby to spread their reputation, but violating the prohibitions of the Five Ministries in the process. The courtiers will congregate in the powerful houses, use all kinds of bribes, and exploit their contacts with influential men in order to escape the burden of military service. The tradesmen and craftsmen will produce inferior wares and collect cheap articles, and wait for good opportunities to exploit the farmers. These five types of men are the vermin of the state. Should the ruler fail to eliminate such people as the five vermin and should he not uphold men of firm integrity and strong character, then he can hardly be surprised if within the seas there should be states that decline and fall, and dynasties that wane and perish.

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1 This story about Confucius is not recorded anywhere else and evidently is fabricated out of Confucius' teaching on filial piety.

Discussion Questions

  1. On the basis of what you have read, what do you think are the strengths of Legalism as a philosophy of life? What are its weaknesses? Are there aspects of human life where Legalism might be more practical or effective than Confucianism?
  2. Do you think that the problems you find in the philosophy of Han Fei could be fixed by modification of his views in certain areas or does there seem to you to be some fundamental problem in his perspective? If you think his philosophy could be modified, how would you go about fixing it? If you think there is a fundamental flaw, how would you characterize it?

Unit Consultant: Irene Bloom, Professor Oriental Studies, Barnard College

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