Book I.
1. Chap. I. Fêng-yü [OMITTED].
This chapter treats of the relation between officers and their
sovereign. To be appreciated and successful an official must find
the right prince, who understands him and puts him in the right
place. One must not make the successful responsible for their
success, or the unsuccessful for their failure, because not their talents,
but time and circumstances are decisive.
2. Chap. II. Lei-hai [OMITTED].
The difficulties and annoyances which people have to endure
come from abroad, and are not the result of their own works. Therefore
they must not be blamed. Fear and good conduct have no
influence on fortune or misfortune. "Fortune is what we obtain
without any effort of our own, and misfortune what happens to
us without our co-operation." The chief annoyances of officials at
the court and in the provinces are slanderous reports of envious
persons. Three kinds of calumnies are distinguished. The wise
do not feel troubled about this, and lead the life which most
suits them.
*3. Chap. III. Ming-lu [OMITTED] (On Destiny and Fortune).
Destiny predetermines the length of man's life, and whether
he shall be rich and honourable, or poor and mean. There is no
correspondence between human virtue and fate. The wicked and
the unintelligent are very often happy, whereas men endowed with
the highest faculties and the noblest character perish in misery,
as is shown by various examples from history. The knowing,
therefore, do not hunt after happiness, but leave everything to
Heaven, suffering with equanimity what cannot be avoided, and
placidly awaiting their turn. The opinions of several philosophers
holding similar views are given.
*4. Chap. IV. Ch`i-shou [OMITTED] (Long Life and Vital Fluid).
There are two kinds of fate, the one determining the events
of life, the other its length. The length of life depends on the
quantity of the vital fluid received at birth. Accordingly the body
waxes strong or weak, and a strong body lives longer than a
feeble one. The normal length of human life should be a hundred
years. The Classics attest that the wise emperors of the Golden
Age:—
Yao, Shun, Wén Wang, Wu Wang, and others all lived over
hundred years.
