University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER III.

Spontaneity (Tse-jan).

By the fusion of the fluids of Heaven and Earth all things
of the world are produced spontaneously, just as by the mixture
of the fluids of husband and wife children are born spontaneously.
Among the things thus produced, creatures with blood in their
veins are sensitive of hunger and cold. Seeing that grain can be
eaten, they use it as food, and discovering that silk and hemp can
be worn, they take it as raiment. Some people are of opinion that
Heaven produces grain for the purpose of feeding mankind, and
silk and hemp to cloth them. That would be tantamount to making
Heaven the farmer of man or his mulberry girl,[1] it would not be
in accordance with spontaneity, therefore this opinion is very
questionable and unacceptable.

Reasoning on Taoist principles we find that Heaven emits
its fluid everywhere. Among the many things of this world grain
dispels hunger, and silk and hemp protect from cold. For that
reason man eats grain, and wears silk and hemp. That Heaven
does not produce grain, silk, and hemp purposely, in order to feed
and cloth mankind, follows from the fact that by calamitous changes
it does not intend to reprove man. Things are produced spontaneously,
and man wears and eats them; the fluid changes spontaneously,
and man is frightened by it, for the usual theory is disheartening.
Where would be spontaneity, if the heavenly signs
were intentional, and where inaction?[2]

Why must we assume that Heaven acts spontaneously? Because
it has neither mouth nor eyes. Activity is connected with
the mouth and the eyes: the mouth wishes to eat, and the eyes to
see. These desires within manifest themselves without. That the
mouth and the eyes are craving for something, which is considered
an advantage, is due to those desires. Now, provided that the
mouth and the eye do not affect things, there is nothing which
they might long for, why should there be activity then?

How do we know that Heaven possesses neither mouth nor
eyes? From Earth. The body of the Earth is formed of earth,
and earth has neither mouth nor eyes. Heaven and Earth are like
husband and wife. Since the body of the Earth is not provided
with a mouth or eyes, we know that Heaven has no mouth or
eyes neither. Supposing that Heaven has a body, then it must be
like that of the Earth, and should it be air only, this air would
be like clouds and fog. How can a cloudy or nebular substance
have a mouth or an eye?

Some one might argue that every movement is originally inaction.
There is desire provoking the movement, and, as soon as
there is motion, there is action. The movements of Heaven are
similar to those of man, how could they be inactive? I reply that,
when Heaven moves, it emits its fluid. Its body moves, the fluid
comes forth, and things are produced. When man moves his fluid,
his body moves, his fluid then comes forth, and a child is produced.
Man emitting his fluid does not intend to beget a child,
yet the fluid being emitted, the child is born of itself. When
Heaven is moving, it does not desire to produce things thereby,
but things are produced of their own accord. That is spontaneity.
Letting out its fluid it does not desire to create things, but things
are created of themselves. That is inaction.

But how is the fluid of Heaven, which we credit with spontaneity
and inaction? It is placid, tranquil, desireless, inactive,
and unbusied. Lao Tse acquired long life by it. He obtained it
from Heaven. If Heaven did not possess this fluid, how could
Lao Tse have obtained this nature? For it does not happen that
the disciples alone speak of something, which their master never
mentioned.

Perhaps this nature appeared again in Duke Huan,[3] who was
wont to say, "Let Kuan Chung[4] know." His attendants replied, "is it
so easy to rule, if Kuan Chung is always the first and second word?"
The duke rejoined, "Before I had secured the services of Kuan Chung,
I was in the greatest difficulties, now, after I have got him, I find
everything easy." When Duke Huan had taken Kuan Chung into
his service, he left the affairs to him, entrusted him with the administration,
and did not trouble any more about it. Should high
Heaven, which in its exalted virtue confers the government upon
an emperor, reprove man, its virtue would be inferior to that of

Duke Huan, and the conduct of a feudatory prince surpass that of
great Heaven.

Somebody might object that Duke Huan knew Kuan Chung
to be a wise man, and therefore appointed him, and that but for
Kuan Chung he would also have given vent to his displeasure.
Meeting with men like Yao and Shun Heaven would certainly not
have reprimanded people either.

I beg to reply, that, if Heaven can reprimand, it might
as well purposely appoint a wise prince, select a genius like Yao
and Shun, confer the imperial dignity upon him, and leave the
affairs of the empire to him without taking further notice of
them. Now it is different. Heaven creates very inferior princes,
who have no principles, and neglect virtue, and therefore has to
reprove them every now and then. Would it not be afraid of
the trouble?

Ts`ao Ts`an,[5] a minister of the Han, was given to wine,
songs, and music, and did not care about government. When
his son remonstrated with him, he gave him two hundred blows
with the bamboo. At that period there was no insurrection
in the empire. In Huai-yang[6] people coined counterfeit money,
and the officials were powerless to check the abuse. Chi Yen[7]
was prefect then. He did not destroy a single furnace, or punish
a single individual. Quite indifferent, he was comfortably
reclining on his couch, and the conditions of Huai-yang became
well ordered again. Ts`ao Ts`an behaved himself, as though he
were not a minister, and Chi Yen administered his prefecture,
as if nobody were living in it. Albeit yet the empire of the
Han had no troubles, and in Huai-yang the punishments could
be discontinued. So perfect was the virtue of Ts`ao Ts`an, and
so imposing Chi Yen's dignity. The majesty of Heaven and
its virtue are quite something else than those of Ts`ao Ts`an
and Chi Yen, but to affirm that Heaven entrusts an emperor
with the government, and then reproves him, would amount
to nothing less than that Heaven's virtue is not as exalted
as that of Ts`ao Ts`an, and its majesty not as imposing as that
of Chi Yen.

When Chü Po Yü[8] was governing Wei, Tse Kung asked him
through somebody, how he governed Wei. The reply was, "I
govern it by not governing."—Government by not governing is
inaction as a principle.

Some opponent might say that as a sequel of universal peace
a plan came forth from the Yellow River, and a scroll from the Lo.[9]
Without drawing no plan can be made, and without action nothing
is completed. The fact that Heaven and Earth produced the plan
and the scroll shows that they are active, they think.—When
Chang Liang was walking on the banks of the river Sse, he met
the "Yellow Stone Genius,"[10] who gave him the "minister's book."[11]
Heaven was supporting the Han and destroying the Ch`in, therefore
he ordered a spiritual stone to change into a ghost. That a book
was handed to somebody is again considered a proof of activity.

I am of opinion that all this was spontaneous, for how could
Heaven take a brush and ink, and draw the plan, or write the
scroll? The principle of Heaven is spontaneity, consequently the
plan and the book must have been produced of themselves.

T`ang Shu Yü of Chin[12] and Ch`êng Chi Yo of Lu[13] had a character
in their hands, when they were born, therefore one was
called Yü, the other Yo. When Ch`ung Tse of Sung[14] was born, the
characters "Duchess of Lu" were written on her palm. These letters
must have been written, while the three persons were still in their
mother's womb. If we say that Heaven wrote them, while they
were in their mother's womb, did Heaven perhaps send a spirit
with a style, a brush, and ink to engrave and write the characters

on their bodies? The spontaneity of these processes seems dubious,
and is difficult to understand. Externally there seemed to be
activity, but as a matter of fact, there was spontaneity internally.
Thus the Grand Annalist recording the story of the yellow stone,
has his doubts, but cannot find the truth.[15] Viscount Chien of Chao[16]
had a dream that he was ascending to heaven. There he saw a
lad by the side of the Ruler of Heaven. When he went out subsequently,
he perceived a young man in the street, who was the
one whom he had seen previously in his dream by the side of
the Ruler of Heaven. This must be regarded as a lucky augury
the future flourishing of the Chao State, as the transmission of
of the book by the "yellow stone" was a sign of the rise of the
Han dynasty. That the supernatural fluid becomes a ghost, and
that the ghost is shaped like a man, is spontaneous, and not the
work of anybody. When plants and trees grow, their flowers and
leaves are onion green and have crooked and broken veins like
ornaments If Heaven is credited with having written the above
mentioned characters, does it make these flowers and leaves also?

In the State of Sung a man carved a mulberry-leaf of wood,
and it took him three years to complete it. Confucius said "If the
Earth required three years to complete one leaf, few plants would
have leaves."[17] According to this dictum of Confucius the leaves of
plants grow spontaneously, and for that reason they can grow
simultaneously. If Heaven made them, their growth would be as
much delayed as the carving of the mulberry-leaf by the man of
the Sung State.

Let us look at the hair and feathers of animals and birds,
and their various colours. Can they all have been made? If so,
animals and birds would never be quite finished. In spring we
see the plants growing, and in autumn we see them full-grown.
Can Heaven and Earth have done this, or do things grow spontaneously?
If we may say that Heaven and Earth have done it, they
must have used hands for the purpose. Do Heaven and Earth
possess many thousand or many ten thousand hands to produce
thousands and ten thousands of things at the same time?

The things between Heaven and Earth are like a child in his
mother's womb. After ten months pregnancy the mother gives
birth to the child. Are his nose, his mouth, his ears, his hair,
his eyes, his skin with down, the arteries, the fat, the bones, the
joints, the nails, and the teeth grown of themselves in the womb,
or has the mother made them?

Why is a dummy never called a man? Because it has a nose,
a mouth, ears, and eyes, but not a spontaneous nature. Wu Ti was
very fond of his consort Wang. When she had died, he pondered,
whether he could not see her figure again. The Taoists made an
artificial figure of the lady.[18] When it was ready, it passed through
the palace gate. Wu Ti greatly alarmed rose to meet her, but, all
of a sudden, she was not seen any more. Since it was not a real,
spontaneous being, but a semblance, artificially made by jugglers,
it became diffuse at first sight, dispersed, and vanished. Everything
that has been made does not last long, like the image of the empress,
which appeared only for a short while.

The Taoist school argues on spontaneity, but it does not
know how to substantiate its cause by evidence. Therefore their
theory of spontaneity has not yet found credence. However, in
spite of spontaneity there may be activity for a while in support
of it. Ploughing, tilling, weeding, and sowing in Spring are human
actions. But as soon as the grain has entered the soil, it begins
growing by day and night. Man can do nothing for it, or if he
does, he spoils the thing.

A man of Sung was sorry that his sprouts were not high
enough, therefore he pulled them out, but, on the following day,
they were dry, and died. He who wishes to do what is spontaneous,
is on a par with this man of Sung.

The following question may be raised:—"Man is born from
Heaven and Earth. Since Heaven and Earth are inactive, man
who has received the fluid of Heaven, ought to be inactive likewise,
wherefore does he act nevertheless?"

For the following reason. A man with the highest, purest,
and fullest virtue has been endowed with a large quantity of the
heavenly fluid, therefore he can follow the example of Heaven,
and be spontaneous and inactive like it. He who has received
but a small quota of the fluid, does not live in accordance with
righteousness and virtue, and does not resemble Heaven and Earth.

Hence he is called unlike, which means that he does not resemble
Heaven and Earth. Not resembling Heaven and Earth he cannot be
accounted a wise man or a sage. Therefore he is active.

Heaven and Earth are the furnace, and the creating is the
melting process. How can all be wise, since the fluid of which
they are formed is not the same? Huang and Lao were truly wise.
Huang is Huang Ti, and Lao is Lao Tse. Huang and Lao's conduct
was such, that their bodies were in a state of quietude and indifference.
Their government consisted in inaction. They took care
of their persons, and behaved with reverence, hence Yin and Yang
were in harmony. They did not long for action, and things were
produced of themselves; they did not think of creating anything,
and things were completed spontaneously.

The Yi-king says that Huang Ti, Yao, and Shun let their robes
fall, and the empire was governed.[19] That they let their robes fall
means that their robes fell down, and that they folded their arms,
doing nothing. Confucius said, "Grand indeed was Yao as a sovereign!
Heaven alone is great, and Yao alone emulated it!"[20] and,
"How imposing was the way in which Shun and Yü swayed the
empire, but did not much care for it."[21] The Duke of Chou makes
the remark that the supreme ruler enjoyed his ease.[22] By the
supreme ruler Shun and Yü are meant.[23]

Shun and Yü took over the peaceful government, which they
continued, appointing wise men and men of talent. They respected
themselves, and did no work themselves, and the empire was governed.
Shun and Yü received the peaceful government from Yao.
Yao imitated Heaven; he did not do meritorious deeds or strive
for a name, and reforms, for which nothing was done, were completed
of themselves. Hence it was said, "Excellent indeed," but
the people did not find the right name for it. Those aged 50 years
were beating clods of earth together on their land, but they did
not understand Yao's virtue, because the reforms were spontaneous.

The Yi-king says, "The great man equals Heaven and Earth
in virtue."[24] Huang Ti, Yao, and Shun were such great men. Their

virtue was on a level with that of Heaven and Earth, therefore
they knew inaction. The principle of Heaven is inaction. Accordingly
in spring it does not do the germinating, in summer
the growing, in autumn the ripening, or in winter the hiding of
the seeds. When the Yang fluid comes forth spontaneously, plants
will germinate and grow of themselves, and, when the Yin fluid
rises, they ripen and disappear of their own accord.

When we irrigate garden land with water drawn from wells
or drained from ponds, plants germinate and grow also, but, when
showers of rain come down, the stalks, leaves, and roots are
all abundantly soaked. Natural moisture is much more copious
than artificial irrigation from wells and ponds. Thus inactive action
brings the greatest results. By not seeking it, merit is acquired,
and by not affecting it, fame is obtained. Rain-showers, merit, and
fame are something great, yet Heaven and Earth do not work for
them. When the fluid harmonises, rain gathers spontaneously.

The literati in speaking of the relation of husband and wife
establish similarities with Heaven and Earth. For husband and
wife they find similarities with Heaven and Earth, but in so far
as they are unable to make use of the relation of husband and
wife, when discussing the nature of Heaven and Earth, they show
a regrettable lack of acumen.

Heaven expands above, and Earth below. When the fluid
from below rises, and the fluid on high descends, all things are
created in the middle. While they are growing, it is not necessary
that Heaven should still care for them, just as the father does not
know the embryo, after it is in the mother's womb. Things grow
spontaneously, and the child is formed of itself. Heaven and Earth,
and father and mother can take no further cognisance of it. But
after birth, the way of man is instruction and teaching, the way
of Heaven, inaction and yielding to nature. Therefore Heaven allows
the fish to swim in the rivers, and the wild beasts to roam
in the mountains, following their natural propensities. It does
not drive the fish up the hills, or the wild beasts into the water.
Why? Because that would be an outrage upon their nature, and
a complete disregard of what suits them. The people resemble
fish and beasts. High virtue governs them as easily, as one fries
small fish, and as Heaven and Earth would act.

Shang Yang[25] changed the laws of Ch`in wishing to acquire
extraordinary merit. He did not hear the advice of Chao Liang,

consequently he incurred the horrible penalty of being torn asunder
by carts. If the virtue be poor, and the desires many, prince and
minister hate one another. The Taoists possess real virtue:—the
inferiors agree with the superiors, and the superiors are at peace
with their inferiors. Being genuinely ignorant, they do nothing,
and there is no reason, why they should be reproved. This is what
they call a well balanced government. Prince and minister forget one
another in governing, the fish forget each other in the water,[26] and
so do the beasts in the forests, and men in life. That is Heaven.

Confucius said to Yen Yuan, "When I deferred to you, I did
not think of it, and when you deferred to me, you likewise did
not think of it."[27] Although Confucius was like a prince, and Yen
Yuan like a minister, he could not make up his mind to reprimand
Yen Yuan, how much less would Lao Tse have been able to do so,
if we consider him as a prince and Wên Tse[28] as his minister? Lao
Tse and Wên Tse were like Heaven and Earth.

Generous wine tastes sweet. When those who drink it, become
drunk, they do not know each other. Bad wine is sour and
bitter. Hosts and guests knit the brows. Now, reprimands are a
proof of the badness of one's principles.[29] To say that Heaven reprimands
would be like pretending that Heaven's excellence is inferior
to that of generous wine.

Ceremonies originate from a want of loyalty and good faith,
and are the beginning of confusion.[30] On that score people find
fault with one another, which leads to reproof. At the time of
the Three Rulers people were sitting down self-satisfied, and walking
about at perfect ease. Sometimes they took themselves for
horses, and sometimes for oxen. Virtuous actions were out of the
question, and the people were dull and beclouded. Knowledge
and wisdom did not yet make their appearance. Originally, there
happened no calamities or catastrophes either, or, if they did, they
were not denoted as reprimands. Why? Because at that time people
were feeble-minded, and did not restrain or reproach one another.

Later generations have gradually declined:—superiors and inferiors
recriminate, and calamitous events continually happen. Hence the
hypothesis of reprimands has been developed. The Heaven of today
is the Heaven of old, and it is not the case that the Heaven
of old was benign, whereas now Heaven is harsh. The hypothesis
of reprimands has been put forward at present, as surmise made
by men from their own feelings.

Declarations and oaths do not reach up to the Five Emperors,
agreements and covenants to the Three Rulers, and the
giving of hostages to the Five Princes.[31] The more people's virtue
declined, the more faith began to fail them. In their guile and
treachery they broke treaties, and were deaf to admonitions. Treaties
and admonitions being of no avail, they reproached one another,
and if no change was brought about by these reproaches, they
took up arms, and fought, till one was exterminated. Consequently
reprimands point to a state of decay and disorder. Therefore it
appears very dubious that Heaven should make reprimands.

Those who believe in reprimands, refer to human ways as a
proof. Among men a sovereign reprimands his minister, and high
Heaven reprimands the sovereign. It does so by means of calamitous
events, they say. However, among men it also happens
that the minister remonstrates with his sovereign. When Heaven
reprimands an emperor by visiting him with calamities, and the
latter wishes at that time to remonstrate with high Heaven, how
can he do it? If they say that Heaven's virtue is so perfect, that
man cannot remonstrate with it, then Heaven possessed of such
virtue, ought likewise to keep quiet, and ought not to reprimand.
When the sovereign of Wan Shih did wrong, the latter did not
say a word, but at table he did not eat, which showed his perfection.
An excellent man can remain silent, and august Heaven
with his sublime virtue should reprimand? Heaven does not act,
therefore it does not speak. The disasters, which so frequently
occur, are the work of the spontaneous fluid.

Heaven and Earth cannot act, nor do they possess any knowledge.
When there is a cold in the stomach, it aches. This is
not caused by man, but the spontaneous working of the fluid. The
space between Heaven and Earth is like that between the back
and the stomach.[32]

If Heaven is regarded as the author of every calamity, are
all abnormities, great and small, complicated and simple, caused by
Heaven also? A cow may give birth to a horse, and on a cherry-tree
a plum may grow. Does, according to the theory under discussion,
the spirit of Heaven enter the belly of the cow to create
the horse, or stick a plum upon a cherry-tree?

Lao[33] said, "The Master said," "Having no official employment,
I acquired many arts," and he said, "When I was young, my
coudition was low, and therefore I acquired my ability in many
things, but they were mean matters."[34] What is low in people,
such as ability and skilfulness, is not practised by the great ones.
How could Heaven, which is so majestic and sublime, choose to
bring about catastrophes with a view to reprimanding people?

Moreover, auspicious and inauspicious events are like the
flushed colour appearing on the face. Man cannot produce it, the
colour comes out of itself. Heaven and Earth are like the human
body, the transformation of their fluid, like the flushed colour.
How can Heaven and Earth cause the sudden change of their fluid,
since man cannot produce the flushed colour? The change of the
fluid is spontaneous, it appears of itself, as the colour comes out
of itself. The soothsayers rely on this, when they foretell the
future.

Heat and cold, reprimands, phenomenal changes, and attraction,
all these four errors have already been treated.[35] Reprimands are
more contrary to the ways of Heaven than anything else, therefore
I have discussed them twice, explaining where the difficulties
in the way of the two antagonistic views lie. The one is in accordance
with human affairs, but does not fall in with Taoism,
the other agrees with Taoism, but is not in harmony with human
affairs. But though opposed to the belief of the Confucianists, it
corresponds to the ideas of Huang Ti and Lao Tse.