老子韓非列傳

Laozi was a man of Quren village, Li township, Ku district in Chu. His surname was Li, his given name Er, and his courtesy name Dan. He served as keeper of the archives at the Zhou court.

Confucius traveled to Zhou intending to ask Laozi about ritual. Laozi said: "The men you speak of — their bones have long since rotted, and only their words remain. Moreover, when a gentleman meets his moment, he rides forth; when the moment does not come, he drifts along like tumbling weeds. I have heard it said: a good merchant hides his goods deep and appears to have nothing; a gentleman of abundant virtue has the bearing of a fool. Strip away your arrogance and your many desires, your affected manner and your excessive ambitions — none of these profit you. That is all I have to tell you." After Confucius departed, he told his disciples: "Birds — I know they can fly. Fish — I know they can swim. Beasts — I know they can run. What runs can be caught in nets, what swims can be caught on lines, what flies can be brought down with arrows. But the dragon — I cannot fathom how it rides wind and cloud up to heaven. Today I have met Laozi. He is like a dragon!"

Laozi cultivated the Way and its Virtue. His teaching made self-concealment and anonymity its central aim. He lived at the Zhou court for a long time, but seeing the decline of Zhou, he departed. When he reached the pass, the Keeper of the Pass, Yin Xi, said: "You are about to go into seclusion. I insist that you write a book for me." Thereupon Laozi wrote a book in two parts, setting forth the meaning of the Way and its Virtue in over five thousand words, and departed. No one knows where he ended his days.

Some say that Lao Laizi was also a man of Chu who wrote fifteen chapters on the practical application of Daoist thought and was a contemporary of Confucius.

It is said that Laozi lived over one hundred and sixty years — some say over two hundred — because he cultivated the Way and thereby nourished his longevity.

One hundred and twenty-nine years after Confucius died, the records state that the Grand Historian Dan of Zhou had an audience with Duke Xian of Qin and said: "Once Qin and Zhou were united. After five hundred years they will separate, and seventy years after the separation, a hegemon-king will arise." Some say Dan was Laozi; others say not. The world does not know the truth of it. Laozi was a reclusive gentleman.

Laozi's son was named Zong. Zong served as a general of Wei and was enfeoffed at Duangan. Zong's son was Zhu; Zhu's son was Gong; Gong's great-great-grandson was Jia. Jia served Emperor Wen of Han. Jia's son, Jie, became Grand Tutor to King Ang of Jiaoxi, and the family settled in Qi.

Those in the world who study Laozi deprecate Confucian learning, and the Confucians likewise deprecate Laozi. "Those whose ways differ do not plan together" — is this not what it means? Li Er taught non-action and spontaneous transformation, stillness and spontaneous rectification.

Zhuangzi was a man of Meng, named Zhou. He once served as an official of the lacquer garden at Meng, and was a contemporary of King Hui of Liang and King Xuan of Qi. His learning penetrated every field, but its essentials always traced back to Laozi's teachings. He wrote over a hundred thousand words, most of them parables. He composed "The Old Fisherman," "Robber Zhi," and "Rifling Trunks" to ridicule the followers of Confucius and to illuminate Laozi's methods. The "Wei Lei Xu" and "Kang Sang Zi" chapters and the like are all empty words without factual basis. Yet he was skilled at stringing together words and phrases, pointing to things and drawing parallels, and used these to flay the Confucians and Mohists — even the most established scholars of the age could not defend themselves against him. His words surged and flowed unchecked, pleasing only himself, and so from kings and great lords on down, none could put him to use.

King Wei of Chu, hearing that Zhuang Zhou was a worthy, sent envoys with lavish gifts to invite him and promised to make him chancellor. Zhuang Zhou laughed and told the Chu envoys: "A thousand in gold is a handsome profit; a chancellorship is an honored position. But have you not seen the sacrificial ox at the suburban altar? It is fed and fattened for several years, draped in embroidered cloth, and led into the great temple. At that moment, even if it wished to be a solitary piglet, how could it? Leave at once — do not defile me. I would rather play and take my pleasure in a muddy ditch than be bridled by the ruler of a state. I will never hold office — that is what pleases my spirit."

Shen Buhai was a man of Jing, formerly a minor official of Zheng. He used his learning to gain an audience with Marquis Zhao of Han, who appointed him chancellor. He reformed domestic governance and managed foreign relations with the other lords for fifteen years. Throughout Shen Buhai's lifetime, the state was well-ordered, the army was strong, and no one dared to attack Han.

Shen Buhai's learning was rooted in the Yellow Emperor-Laozi tradition but focused on the matching of titles and performance. He wrote two chapters of a book called the Shenzi.

Han Fei was a prince of the Han royal house. He took delight in the study of title-and-performance, law, and technique, and his thought was ultimately rooted in the Yellow Emperor-Laozi tradition. Han Fei had a stutter and could not argue persuasively in speech, but he excelled at writing. He and Li Si both studied under Xun Qing; Li Si considered himself inferior to Han Fei.

Han Fei saw that Han was growing weaker. He repeatedly submitted written memorials to the King of Han, but the king could not put them to use. Han Fei was angered that in governing the state they did not devote themselves to clarifying the legal system, wielding authority to control their ministers, enriching the state and strengthening the army by seeking out and employing the capable. Instead, they elevated frivolous parasites and placed them above men of real achievement. He held that the Confucians used their writings to subvert the law, and the swordsmen used their martial prowess to violate the prohibitions. In lenient times, the court favored men of reputation; in emergencies, it called upon men in armor. Those it nurtured were not those it used; those it used were not those it had nurtured. Grieving that honest and upright men found no place among crooked ministers, and observing the patterns of success and failure in the past, he wrote 'The Solitary Indignation,' 'The Five Vermin,' 'Inner and Outer Collections of Sayings,' 'Forest of Persuasions,' and 'The Difficulty of Persuasion' — over a hundred thousand words in all.

Yet Han Fei understood the difficulty of persuasion — he wrote a thorough treatise on it — and still he died in Qin, unable to save himself.

The 'Difficulty of Persuasion' says:

The difficulty of persuasion does not lie in the difficulty of having the knowledge with which to persuade; nor does it lie in the difficulty of making my arguments clear enough to express my meaning; nor does it lie in the difficulty of daring to speak freely and exhaustively. The difficulty of persuasion lies entirely in knowing the mind of the one being persuaded, so that I can fit my argument to it.

If the person being persuaded is motivated by a desire for a lofty reputation, and you appeal to him with generous profits, he will see you as base in principle and treat you with contempt, and will certainly send you away. If the person is motivated by generous profits, and you appeal to him with a lofty reputation, he will see you as impractical and detached from reality, and will certainly not employ you. If the person is truly motivated by profit but outwardly displays a desire for reputation, and you appeal to him with reputation, he will publicly accept you but privately keep you at a distance; and if you appeal to him with profit, he will secretly adopt your advice but publicly discard you. One cannot fail to understand this.

Affairs succeed through secrecy; they fail through disclosure. It may not be you yourself who leaks, but if your words touch on what is being concealed, you are in danger. When a powerful man has a fault and the persuader openly discusses and publicizes his failing, the persuader is in danger. When the relationship is not yet deep and the persuader speaks with the familiarity of complete understanding — if the advice works and succeeds, the merit is forgotten; if it fails, suspicion falls on the adviser — in such cases the persuader is in danger. When a powerful man devises a plan and wishes to claim credit for it himself, and the persuader also knows of it, the persuader is in danger. When the powerful man openly undertakes some action and considers it his own doing, and the persuader also knows the true reason, the persuader is in danger. Pressing him to do what he will certainly refuse, or restraining him from what he cannot stop doing — this is dangerous. Hence it is said: if you discuss great men with him, he thinks you are making invidious comparisons; if you discuss lesser men, he thinks you are trading on your access. If you discuss those he loves, he thinks you are exploiting the connection; if you discuss those he hates, he thinks you are testing him. If your words are concise and direct, he thinks you ignorant and dismisses you; if they are broad and ornate, he finds you tedious and long-winded. If you present ideas by following his inclinations, he calls you timid and not forthcoming; if you range widely and ambitiously, he calls you crude and arrogant. These are the difficulties of persuasion that one cannot fail to understand.

The key to persuasion lies in knowing how to embellish what the person being persuaded respects, and to minimize what he finds shameful. If he is proud of his own plan, do not press him on its flaws; if he is proud of his decisiveness, do not provoke him by pointing out opposition; if he is proud of his strength, do not overwhelm him with difficulties. When citing different matters that share the same logic, or praising different men who acted the same way, embellish your points so that no offense is given. If he has made the same kind of mistake, make clear that the case involves no mistake. When the greatest loyalty rubs against nothing and one's words provoke no resistance, only then can one fully deploy one's eloquence and insight. This is how to become close without arousing suspicion — the full difficulty of being truly understood. Once many days have passed and the relationship has deepened, one may devise deep plans without suspicion and dispute openly without being condemned. Then one may lay out costs and benefits to achieve results, and directly distinguish right from wrong to polish one's own position. When the relationship sustains this, persuasion succeeds.

Yi Yin served as a cook, and Baili Xi served as a slave — these were the paths by which they gained access to their rulers. These two were sages, yet even they could not avoid debasing themselves in entering the world. Such are the things that cannot be avoided in the pursuit of office.

There was a rich man in Song whose wall collapsed in the rain. His son said, 'If you do not rebuild it, there will be theft.' The father of a neighbor said the same thing. That night, a great amount of property was indeed stolen. The family considered the son wise but suspected the neighbor's father. Long ago, Duke Wu of Zheng wished to attack Hu, so he married his daughter to the lord of Hu. Then he asked his ministers: 'I wish to use force — who should I attack?' Guan Qisi said: 'Hu is worth attacking.' The duke executed Guan Qisi, saying: 'Hu is a brother state — how dare you suggest attacking it?' The lord of Hu heard of this and, believing Zheng to be friendly, did not guard against it. The men of Zheng attacked Hu and took it. In both these cases, the judgment was correct, yet in the serious case the speaker was executed and in the lighter case he was suspected. It is not that knowing is difficult — what is difficult is knowing what to do with what one knows.

In former times, Mi Zixia was beloved by the lord of Wei. The law of Wei prescribed amputation of the foot for anyone who secretly drove the lord's chariot. When Mi Zixia's mother fell ill and someone came at night to tell him, Mi Zixia forged authorization and drove the lord's chariot out. The lord heard of it and praised him: "How filial! For his mother's sake he risked the punishment of amputation!" While strolling with the lord in the fruit garden, Mi Zixia bit into a peach, found it sweet, and offered the uneaten half to the lord. The lord said: "How he loves me! He forgets his own appetite and thinks of me!" But when Mi Zixia's beauty faded and the lord's affection cooled, Mi Zixia gave offense to the lord. The lord said: "This is the man who once forged authorization to drive my chariot, and once fed me his leftover peach." Mi Zixia's actions had not changed from the beginning, yet earlier he was praised and later he was condemned — the extremes of love and hatred had shifted. Therefore, when one is loved by the ruler, one's judgment is deemed sound and one is drawn closer; when one is hated, one's faults are deemed real and one is pushed away. Therefore those who would remonstrate and advise must first observe the love and hatred of the ruler before speaking.

The dragon is a creature that can be tamed, handled, and even ridden. Yet beneath its throat there are reverse-growing scales a foot across, and if anyone touches them, the dragon will certainly kill that person. The ruler of men also has reverse scales. If the persuader can avoid touching the ruler's reverse scales, he is close to success.

Someone transmitted Han Fei's writings to Qin. The King of Qin read 'The Solitary Indignation' and 'The Five Vermin' and exclaimed: "If I could meet this man and spend time with him, I would die without regret!" Li Si said: "This is the work of Han Fei." Qin thereupon launched an urgent assault on Han. The King of Han, who had never employed Han Fei, now in desperation sent him as envoy to Qin. The King of Qin was pleased with him but had not yet decided to trust and employ him. Li Si and Yao Jia, jealous of Han Fei, slandered him, saying: "Han Fei is a prince of the Han royal house. Now Your Majesty wishes to annex the lords. Han Fei will always serve Han's interests, not Qin's — that is human nature. If Your Majesty does not employ him but keeps him long and then sends him home, you are leaving yourself a future threat. It would be better to execute him on some pretext." The King of Qin agreed and turned Han Fei over to the judicial officials. Li Si sent someone to deliver poison to Han Fei, ordering him to kill himself. Han Fei wished to present his case in person but was denied an audience. The King of Qin later regretted it and sent someone to pardon him, but Han Fei was already dead.

The writings of Shen Buhai and Han Fei were transmitted to later generations, and scholars possess many copies. I alone grieve that Han Fei wrote the 'Difficulty of Persuasion' yet could not save himself.

The Grand Historian says: What Laozi valued was the Way — emptiness and non-being, adapting and responding to change through non-action. Thus his writing is called subtle, profound, and difficult to fathom. Zhuangzi scattered the Way and its Virtue into free-ranging discourse, but in essentials he too returned to the natural. Shen Buhai was plodding and methodical, applying himself to the matching of titles and realities. Han Fei drew the plumb-line and ink-cord of strict standards, cut close to the facts of things, and made right and wrong plain — but at the extreme, his doctrine was harsh and unforgiving. All of them originated from the meaning of the Way and its Virtue, but Laozi's vision was the most profound and far-reaching.