University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER X.

The Display of Energy (Hsiao-li).

In the chapters on the Weighing of Talents[385] and the Valuation
of Knowledge[386] the discussion has been limited to knowledge
and learning, and we have not yet spoken of the energy of
talent. All the learned possess this energy. Officials display it in
the administration, and students in their studies.

Some one inquired of Yang Tse Yün,[387] whether among the wise
and virtuous there were also men strong enough to carry a huge
tripod, or hold a decorative flag. "A hundred," was the reply.
A hundred among the wise and virtuous were held to be fit to
match those carrying a big tripod or lifting a decorative flag, for
athletes of great strength are capable of carrying a tripod or holding a flag,
just as scholars of great energy possess an extensive knowledge and a
penetrating intellect. Enlarged views and penetration are the force
of students, whereas in raising heavy loads and tearing off hard
objects lies the force of strong men.

We read in the chapter Tse-t`sai;[388] "Powerful is the king who
opens the path to wisdom. He leads and reforms the people."
That means that the wise are likewise powerful in propriety and
righteousness, and therefore can open the path to wisdom; guiding
and reforming the people. Reforming requires propriety and rectitude,
and propriety and rectitude necessitate literary abilities.
Having still energy left after all exertions, one may use it for
study, and this ability to study proves that one possesses energy.

Somebody might ask, whether a scholar who can explain
one Classic may be regarded as a man full of energy. I would
reply that he may not.[389]

P`ang Shao Tu of Ch`ên-liu,[390] whenever he recommended some
scholar for an office, was in the habit of saying that the talents
of Mr. So-and-So[391] equalled those of a hundred men. The prefect
being diffident of these abilities and not replying, P`ang Shao Tu
would add that perhaps he had not said enough, and that Mr.
So-and-So could vie with a million men in talent. "You speak
nonsense, my dear friend," returned the prefect angrily, but P`ang
Shao Tu rejoined, "Officials do not understand a single word of a
single Canon and cannot repeat one sentence spoken by a teacher.
Students, however, are able to enounce a million paragraphs and
phrases, is their knowledge, therefore, not equal to that of a million
people?" The prefect could give no answer.

The remark of P`ang Shao Tu is true, still it is not quite to
the point, for the scholars may be able to repeat a million sentences,
yet they pay no heed to ancient and modern history. They have
a blind faith in the methods of their teachers and, though their
topics be manifold, after all they do not deserve the name of profound
scholars. Many events which happened before the Yin and
Chou epochs have been recorded in the Six Canons, but of these
the literati know nothing. Of the affairs of the Ch`in and Han
time they take no notice and thereby evince a lack of zeal
and energy.[392]

The Chou looked up to the Two Dynasties,[393] and the Han,
to the Chou and Ch`in times. What happened after the Chou
and Ch`in does not exist for the literati. The Han wished to learn,
the scholars have not this ambition. In case scholars are inclined
to enlarge their views, they may be called learned scholars. They
have more energy than common ones and, as P`ang Shao Tu puts
it, the talents of learned scholars are equal to those of ten million
people.[394]

[Tsêng Tse said, "The learned man may not be without breadth
of mind and vigorous endurance. His burden is heavy and his
course is long. Perfect virtue is the burden which he considers
it is his to sustain;—is it not heavy? Only with death does his
course stop;—is it not long?"][395]

We learn from this that the scholar has to carry the burden
of his conviction alone, and alone to walk the long way leading
to the goal for which he is striving. His body carries a heavy
burden up to his last moments, never tired and never broken,
such is his single energy. The burden of Tsêng Tse consists in
virtue, that of the scholar in learning; the loads are dissimilar,
but the weight is the same.[396]

A hundred-weight may be lifted by one man, but two men
are incapable of moving more than 10 cwt. In the world, there
are many apt to lift a hundred-weight, but very few have the
force to raise 10 cwt. What the scholars carry is above 10 cwt.

When the productive power of the soil is great, plants and
trees pullulate, and the crop of one acre is as much as the produce
of five acres of average quality. Farmers know that the exuberant
growth of grain is owing to the natural fertility of the soil, but
people ignore that abundant literary productions are the upshot of
extraordinary talents, and thus do not understand the real state
of affairs. Now, the energy of learned scholars surpasses that of
common students, and in a still higher degree that of functionaries.

Those who promote the wise and recommend the learned,
are usually accounted very energetic. In order to raise the wise
and recommend the learned, they draw up their daily reports to
the throne. Those able to write them are learned scholars, who
must not necessarily be professionals. It suffices that they have a
keen intellect as well as a ready pen. The memorials of Ku Tse
Yün and T`ang Tse Kao[397] number more than a hundred, all written
in a most vigorous style. They speak out what they think, conceal
nothing, and are never at a loss how to express their ideas. Only
men of genius can do that.

Confucius was the strongest man in the Chou epoch. He wrote
the Ch`un-ch`iu, revised the Five Classics, and fixed the doubtful
text of many an abstruse book.[398] The higher the mountains, the
more clouds gather around them. Before the morning is over, Mt.
T`ai has produced so much rain, that it pours down on the whole
empire.[399] The knowledge of the wise is like those clouds and rain.

Consequently they put forth more than thousands of tablets full
of letters, and must be admired for their great energy.

In praising force, people use to extol Wu Huo.[400] Tung Chung
Shu[401] and Yang Tse Yün are the Wu Huos of letters. King Wu of
Ch`in attempted with Mêng Yüeh to lift a tripod, but he could not
carry it, broke a blood-vessel, and died.[402] When inferior scholars
lay open their innermost thoughts to men like Tung Chung Shu,
they are unable to carry the burden which they have taken, and
break down, having sprung an artery.

When, in Wang Mang's time, the clauses of all the chapters
of the Five Canons were gone through, they amounted to two
hundred thousand. A gentlemen of vast learning, Kuo Lu, fixed
the old text, during the night, and expired under his candle. His
mind could not bear the strain, his arteries were broken, and his
life extinguished.

The son of Yen[403] had already all but outrun Confucius in his
course, when he flagged, completely shattered and exhausted. His
hair turned white, and his teeth fell out. Even a person with
almost perfect endowments may still break down. The strength
of Confucius was wonderful, Yen Yuan could not bear the strain.

Unless talents and energy are equally balanced, knowledge
does not come up to the mark. Those who perforce will rise
from the rank and file up to the highest grades,[404] come to spitting
blood, swooning, and losing their consciousness, until at last their
life ends.

To fill boards with five rows of characters or to write memorials
of ten tablets, is a hard task for people of small talents
and bad writers. How could they combine sentences to paragraphs,
and write hundreds of chapters? That requires special energy.

If the waters of streams and rivers come rushing, taking their
course through the country, always flowing on and never drying
up or stopping, they must have copious sources. People are aware
that the long courses of rivers and streams require springs

abounding in water in the earth, but they overlook that men who
write thousands of tablets have in their bosom an ever-flowing
spring of ideas, and thus they are far from the truth. Looked
at, the hoof of a racer does not distinguish itself from the hoof of
a common horse, but no sooner does it gallop through the plain,
than it becomes visible that it can run a thousand Li. The hoof
of a horse and a human hand are the same after all. If those
who make much of the hoof of a steed, do not call attention to
the hand of a man of letters, they do not understand analogies.

A good judge of the strength of muscles, who has an eye
for analogous facts, will place a man of great scientific energy in
the service of the State, for a man strong in letters, assisted by a
strong governor, is sure of great success through his strength,
whereas, when a strong man is not assisted by another strong
one, it ends in disaster. This will become evident from the following
consideration:—

A strong man may lift a big and ponderous thing, and a strong
ox may draw a heavy cart. Such a cart ascending a hill, a strong
ox must draw in front, and a strong man push behind, then it is
possible to pull the vehicle over the height. If, however, the ox
be feeble, and the man worn out, the heavy cart rolls back, tumbles
into a ditch, upsets, and is smashed.

Learned scholars, cherishing the principles of the former kings
in their hearts and harbouring the dicta of the diverse schools of
thought, are hard to be pushed or pulled, even more so than a
heavy cart. Should those who recommend and push them be weak
and without energy, then they retire and hide in rock caverns.[405]

The Yellow River rises in the K`un-lun, and the Yangtse comes
from the Min-shan.[406] The force of their currents is very great. After
a heavy rainfall still greater masses of water flow down,[407] and unless
their banks were so wide, and the land so low, they would never
reach the eastern sea in their course. If the banks were narrow,
and the land high, a breach in a canal would cause the entire hill
land to be flooded.

The knowledge of an able student bears some resemblance
to this. When his learning pours out, and he does not fall in with
a strong governor to introduce and recommend him, he is lost in

his poor cottage, for how could he rise to the palace of the holy
ruler and impart to him his views on government?

The flame of a fire does not shine, unless it be raised. Now,
here is a man whose knowledge rises as high as a peak, and whose
virtue is like a mountain. In spite of his immense force, he cannot
boast of it himself, and stands in need of somebody to introduce
him. Should he not find such an assistant, he takes his wonderful
energy and absconds in some small alley of a village for want of
an opportunity to rise.

Ao[408] and Hsia Yü[409] were two men of great strength in ancient
times. They could carry a thousand chün[410] on their bodies and with
their hands tear off a horn or twist a hook, but called upon to
lift themselves from the ground, they would have been unable to
detach themselves from it.

Men whose bosoms are filled with wisdom and genius, deserve
to be in the king's palace. They require no more than a tongue
of three inches and a pencil of one foot to assert themselves. But
they cannot push themselves to the front, and, if they could, not
stay there. They want others to push them, and expect others to
prepare a position for them. However it is rather difficult to find
a suitable post for men imbued with great principles and extensive
learning.

A small stone being attached to a mountain, the force of the
mountain can hold it in its gravel and mounds of earth. Besides,
the small stone is so light and subtle, that it can itself keep its
position. As regards a big stone, however, it is not embedded in
sand or earth, and the mountain cannot hold it. Placed on a
precipitous cliff, it is sure to tumble down into the deep valley.

Provided that a scholar, heavy with knowledge, comes across
a superior of modest endowments, there is no sand nor earth right
and left to support him, and even if he is given an exalted position,
his chief cannot keep him there. He shares the fate of the big
stone tumbling down.[411]

Somebody cuts firewood on a mountain. The light brushwood
can easily be tied together, but the big trees of ten spans and more

neither admit of being moved by pulling nor of being pushed behind.
Therefore the fuel-gatherer leaves them in the forest and returns
home, collecting the small wood, which he binds together. Carrying
on this argument, we must own that men of great abilities resemble
trees of over ten spans in circumference. Human force cannot raise
nor recommend them,[412] as the fuel-gatherer is incapable of pushing
or dragging a huge tree.

Confucius was wandering about, and nowhere did he find a
resting-place, not because his sagehood was not enlightened enough,
but his grand principles were too difficult to be put into practice,
and nobody could make use of him. Consequently Confucius stood
there like an enormous tree on a mountain.

That Duke Huan succeeded in bringing about a confederation
of the princes and re-adjusting the empire, was due to Kuan Chung's
energy. Kuan Chung had this energy, and since Duke Huan could
raise him, he may well be called a mighty monarch. Wu could
not avail itself of Wu Tse Hsü,[413] and Ch`u had no employment for
Ch`ü Yuan.[414] The energies of these two persons were very great,
but their sovereigns were unable to raise them.

After some unsuccessful efforts to raise a thing, people eventually
leave it on the spot and depart, but it also happens that, out of
anger, they cut it down with an axe and destroy it. This hardship
was suffered by Wu Tse Hsü and Ch`ü Yuan.[415]

Fish in a pond mutually devour each other. Those which
passing their mouths find room in them, are swallowed, but those
which their mouths cannot hold, are not gulped down. Similarly
Shang Yang thrice addressed Duke Hsiao, but solely his last proposal
was accepted. The two former proved impracticable, and the last
only was fit to be carried out. We notice that the enlightened
laws of Kuan Chung, and the agricultural and military system of
Shang Yang[416] were measures not to be taken by weak rulers.

In the era of the Six States very clever officers went to Ch`u,
and the Ch`u State became powerful;[417] they abandoned Ch`i, and
its power declined. They succoured Chao, and Chao was well
provided,[418] they turned their back upon Wei, and Wei had to suffer.[419]

The Han State employed Shên Pu Hai[420] carrying out his three
devices,[421] and for fifteen years no foe dared infest its territory.
Then it dispensed with his services and did not read his books.
The weapons were destroyed, the armour gone to pieces, and the
State was annexed by Ch`in.

In the Yin and Chou epochs there was an uninterrupted series
of revolutions, and one disaster followed the other. Their intention
was not to do without government, but their power was too weak,
and their knowledge too limited, so that the best advice was lost
upon them. Thus a heavy mound of earth cannot be trampled
down by one man's footsteps, nor a huge pile of stones[422] be subverted
by one man's hand. Wise officers excel by their strong
sinews, and narrow-minded rulers are no match for them. If they
seek each other, they pass one another like fish and quadrupeds.[423]

Unless a Kan-chiang blade[424] he thrust by a man, water-plants
and gourds[425] receive no injury, and unless fine bamboo arrows be
shot from a cross-bow, Lu tissues[426] cannot be pierced. Not that
the blade and the fine bamboo are worthless, but without a person
dealing a blow or shooting, the gourd and the silk are not cut

or pierced.[427] How could the feat of cutting a flag or piercing
an armour be achieved?

With strength sufficient to draw a bow one may not pull a
powerful ballista. Provided that the force of the ballista is of five
stones,[428] but is pulled with three, then the sinews are rent, and the
bones broken without any result. The strength not sufficing for
bending a strong bow, a catastrophe ensues such as breaking the
spine. Those who are not intelligent enough to employ wise men,
themselves injure their virtue and lose their good name. Yet most
critics do not admit that talents may be too great and principles
too high for a sovereign to use them, and hold that the unworthy
only do not come to the front. He that knows how to push his
way, does not make opposition, when his connection with the
sovereign ceases, and he that recommends himself, does not resent
the low price offered him.

All things used by man require somebody to use them, when
their inherent value comes to light. That which drives a chisel
into the wood are the blows of the hammer, and a spade can dig
up the earth, if pressed down by the plant of the foot. All
sharp-edged tools can cut and carve, provided there is a hand to
grasp, and a force to push and pull them.

When Han Hsin[429] left Ch`u and went to Han, the peace of
Hsiang Yü[430] was gone. Kao Tsu knew how to keep him and profit
by his excellence, putting him in the right place. He could appreciate
his energy and discern his merits.

Fan Li[431] earned fame by his assaults on cities and open
battles, but when Kao Tsu made appointments, he gave the first to
Hsiao Ho.[432] He likened Hsiao Ho unto a hunter, and Fan Li unto
a greyhound, for Hsiao Ho was quietly seated, while Fan Li was
running to and fro. The first appointment was not bestowed on
that bustling person, but on him that was quietly sitting down.
Hsiao Ho's forte was his acuteness, whereas Fan Li won his laurels
by his energy. Therefore Hsiao Ho could send him on a
mission to Ch`in to collect official documents. All the other high

officers were amassing gold, and Hsiao Ho alone collected books.
Sitting in his chair, he learned to know the conditions of Ch`in,
and thus was enabled to lay his plans for its ruin. All the other
dignitaries were hurrying about, and Hsiao Ho urged them on.

In this way Shu Sun T`ung[433] fixed the ceremonies, and Kao
Tsu was honoured thereby. Hsiao Ho drafted the penal code,
and the house of Han became pacified.[434] By rites and laws greater
fame is to be won than on the battle-field, and cutting the heads
of the enemies off, is not as meritorious as honouring the sovereign.

In ploughing the weeds, and sowing grain lies the force of
peasants, in bold attacks and battles, that of soldiers, in scaffolding
and hewing, that of artisans, in making books and stitching registers,
that of official clerks, in propounding the doctrine and discoursing
on government, that of learned scholars. Every living
person possesses some faculty, but some of these abilities are highly
estimable, some mean. Confucius could lift the bar of the north-gate,
but did not boast of this strength,[435] being well aware that
the force of muscles and bones in general esteem falls short of
that of benevolence and rectitude.