Chapter XL
A CRITIQUE OF THE DOCTRINE
OF POSITION[1]
Shên Tzŭ said:—
"The flying dragon rides on the clouds and the rising
serpent strolls through the mists; but as soon as the clouds
disperse and the mists clear up, the dragon and the serpent
become the same as the earthworm and the large-winged
black ant, because they have then lost what they rested on.
If worthies are subjected by unworthy men, it is because their
power is weak and their status is low; whereas if the unworthy
men can be subjected by the worthies, it is because
the power of the latter is strong and their status is high. Yao,
while a commoner, could not govern three people, whereas
Chieh, being the Son of Heaven, could throw All-underHeaven
into chaos.
"From this I know that position and status are sufficient
to rely on, and that virtue and wisdom are not worth yearning
after. Indeed, if the bow is weak and the arrow flies high, it
is because it is driven up by the wind; if the orders of an
unworthy man take effect, it is because he is supported by
the masses. When Yao was teaching in an inferior status, the
people did not listen to him; but, as soon as he faced the
south, and became Ruler of All-under-Heaven, whatever he
ordered took effect and whatever he forbade stopped. From
such a viewpoint I see that virtue and wisdom are not
sufficient to subdue the masses, and that position and status
may well subject
[2]
even worthies."
In response to Shên Tzŭ some critic says:—
"True, the flying dragon rides on the clouds and the
rising serpent strolls through the mists. The dependence of
the dragon and the serpent on the circumstances of the clouds
and the mists I never deny. However, if you cast worthiness
aside and trust to position entirely, is it sufficient to attain
political order? No such instance have I ever been able to
witness. Indeed, if the dragon and the serpent, when having
the circumstances of clouds and mists, can ride on and stroll
through them, it is because their talents are excellent.[3]
Now,
though the clouds are thick, the earthworm cannot ride on
them; though the mists are deep, the ant cannot stroll
through them. Indeed, if the earthworm and the ant, when
having the circumstances of thick clouds and deep mists, cannot
ride on and stroll through them, it is because their talents
are feeble. Now, while Chieh and Chow were facing the
south and ruling All-under-Heaven with the authority of the
Son of Heaven as the circumstances of clouds and mists,
All-under-Heaven could not evade chaos, although the talents
of Chieh and Chow were feeble. Again, if All-under-Heaven
was governed by Yao with his position, then how could that
position differ from Chieh's position with
[4]
which he threw
All-under-Heaven into chaos? After all, position cannot
always make worthies realize their
[5]
good-will and unworthy
persons realize their
[6]
malice. If worthies use it, the world
becomes orderly; if unworthy persons use it, the world
becomes chaotic.
"As regards human nature, worthies are few and worthless
persons many. Because the unworthy men who disturb the
world are supplied with the advantage of authority and
position, those who by means of their position disturb the
world are many and those who by means of their position
govern the world well are few. Indeed, position is both an
advantage to order and a facility to chaos. Hence the History
of Chou says: `Do not add wings to tigers. Otherwise,
they will fly into the village, catch people, and devour them.'
"Indeed, to place unworthy men in advantageous positions
is the same as to add wings to tigers. Thus, Chieh and Chow
built high terraces and deep pools to exhaust people's strength
and made roasting pillars to injure people's lives.[7]
Chieh
and Chow could abuse their position and give themselves
over to all vices[8]
because the south-facing authority[9]
worked
as their wings. Were Chieh and Chow commoners, then
before they as yet committed a single vice, their bodies would
have suffered the death penalty. Thus, position can rear
in man the heart of the tiger and the wolf and thereby foster
outrageous and violent events. In this respect it is a great
menace to All-under-Heaven. Thus, concerning the relation
of position to order and chaos, there is from the outset no
[10]
settled view. Nevertheless, if anyone devotes his whole discourse
to the sufficiency of the doctrine of position to govern
All-under-Heaven, the limits of his wisdom must be very
narrow.
"For instance, a swift horse and a solid carriage, if you
make bondmen and bondwomen drive them, will be ridiculed
by people, but, if driven by Wang Liang, will make one
thousand li a day. The horse and the carriage are not different.
Yet, if they sometimes make one thousand li a day and are
sometimes ridiculed by people, it is because the skilful coachman
is so different from the unskilful ones. Now, compare
the state[11]
to the carriage, position to the horse, commands
and orders to the reins and the bridle,[12]
and punishments to
the whip and the cord, and then let Yao and Shun drive them.
Be sure All-under-Heaven would fall into chaos. It is because
the worthy and the unworthy are very different from each
other. Indeed, if anybody wants to drive fast and far but does
not know to employ Wang Liang, or if one wants to increase
advantages and remove dangers but does not know to employ
worthy and talented men, it is the calamity of the ignorance
of analogy. After all, Yao and Shun are the Wang Liangs in
governing the people."[13]
In response to the foregoing criticism some other critic
says:—
"The philosopher considered position sufficiently reliable
for governing officials and people. The critic said that you
had to depend on worthies for political order. As a matter of
truth, neither side is reasonable enough. Indeed, the term
shih [OMITTED] is a generic name. Its species cover innumerable
varieties. If the term shih is always restricted to that variety
entirely due to nature, then there will be no use in disputing
on the subject. What is meant by shih on which I am talking
is the shih created by man. Now, the critic said, `When Yao
and Shun had shih, order obtained; when Chieh and Chow
had shih, chaos prevailed.' Though I do not deny the success
of Yao and Shun, yet I do assert that shih is not what one man
alone can create.
"Indeed, if Yao and Shun were born in the superior status
and even ten Chiehs and Chows could not create any
commotion, the political order would then be due to the force
of circumstances. If Chieh and Chow were born in the
superior status and even ten Yaos and Shuns could not attain
order, the political chaos would then be due to the force of
circumstances. Hence the saying: `Where there is order by
force of circumstances, there can be no chaos; where there
is chaos by force of circumstances, there can be no order.'
Such is the shih due to nature; it cannot be created by man.
"By shih the critic[14]
meant what man can create. By shih
I mean only the kind of shih as acquired by man. Worthiness
has nothing to do with it. How to clarify this point?
"Somebody said: Once there was a man selling halberds
and shields. He praised his shields for their solidity as such
that nothing could penetrate them. All at once he also praised
his halberds, saying, `My halberds are so sharp that they can
penetrate anything.' In response to his words people asked,
`How about using your halberds to pierce through your
shields?' To this the man could not give any reply.
"In fact, the shields advertised to be `impenetrable' and
the halberds advertised to be `absolutely penetrative' cannot
stand together. Similarly, worthiness employed as a form
of shih cannot forbid anything, but shih employed as a way
of government forbids everything. Now, to bring together
worthiness that cannot forbid anything and shih that forbids
everything[15]
is a `halberd-and-shield' fallacy.[16]
Clearly
enough, worthiness and circumstances are incompatible with
each other.
"Moreover, Yao and Shun as well as Chieh and Chow
appear once in a thousand generations; whereas the
opposite[17]
types of men are born shoulder to shoulder and
on the heels of one another. As a matter of fact, most rulers
in the world form a continuous line of average men. It is for
the average rulers that I speak about shih. The average rulers
neither come up to the worthiness of Yao and Shun nor reach
down to the wickedness of Chieh and Chow. If they uphold
the law and make use of their august position, order obtains;
if they discard the law and desert their august position, chaos
prevails. Now suppose you discard the position and act
contrary to the law and wait for Yao and Shun to appear and
suppose order obtains after the arrival of Yao and Shun, then
order will obtain in one out of one thousand generations of
continuous chaos. Suppose you uphold the law and make
use of the august position and wait for Chieh and Chow
to appear and suppose chaos prevails after the arrival of
Chieh and Chow, then chaos will prevail in one out of one
thousand generations of continuous order. To be sure, one
generation of chaos out of one thousand generations of order
and one generation of order out of one thousand generations
of chaos are as different from each other as steed-riders
driving in opposite directions are far apart from each other.
"Indeed, when you abandon the tools of stretching and
bending and give up the scales of weights and measures,
then though you try to make Hsi Chung construct a carriage,
he would not be able to finish even a single wheel. Similarly,
without the promise of reward and the threat of penalty, and
casting the position out of use and giving up the law, then
even if Yao and Shun preached from door to door and
explained to everybody the gospel of political order, they
could not even govern three families. Verily, that shih is
worth employing, is evident. To say that it is necessary to
depend upon worthiness is not true.
"Besides, if you let anyone eat nothing for one hundred
days while waiting for good rice and meat to come, the
starveling will not live. Now, to depend upon the worthiness
of Yao and Shun for governing the people of the present
world is as fallacious as to wait for good rice and meat to save
the starveling's life.
"Indeed, I do not consider it right to say that a swift horse
and a solid carriage, when driven by bondmen and bondwomen,
will be ridiculed by people, but, when driven by
Wang Liang, will make a thousand li a day. For illustration,
if you wait for a good swimmer[18]
from Yüeh to rescue a
drowning man in a Central State,[19]
however well the Yüeh
swimmer may do, the drowning person will not be rescued.
In the same way, waiting for the Wang Liang of old to drive
the horse of to-day is as fallacious as waiting for the man from
Yüeh to rescue that drowning person. The impracticability
is evident enough. But, if teams of swift horses and solid
carriages are placed in readiness in relays fifty li apart and
then you make an average coachman drive them, he will be
able to drive them fast and far and cover one thousand li a
day. Why should it then be necessary to wait for the Wang
Liang of old?
"Further, in matters of driving, the critic chose Wang Liang
for a case of success and took bondmen and bondwomen for a
case of failure; in matters of government, he selected Yao and
Shun for attaining order and Chieh and Chow for creating
chaos. To run from one extreme to another is as fallacious as to
consider taste as sweet as wheat-gluten and honey or else as
bitter as parti-coloured lettuce and bitter parsley.
"In short, the criticism, composed of flippant contentions
and wordy repetitions, is absurd and tactless. It is a dilemma
involving two extremes[20]
as the only alternatives. If so, how
can it be used to criticize a reasonable and consistent doctrine?
The argument of the critic, however, is not as sound as the
doctrine under consideration."
