北山錄 5.2.3

5.2.3

why speak only of sages? (In the Analects: The Master wished to dwell among the Nine Yi tribes. Someone said, "They are crude, how can you do so?" Confucius said, "If a gentleman dwells among them, what crudeness could there be?" If a gentleman is like this, then if a sage dwells there, transformation naturally does not consider them crude.) Heaven has no favorites; it aids only virtue. Learning has no fixed teacher; one takes the good as master. (To take as master means to attach oneself to; wherever there is good, one follows one's inclination to adhere to it.) The good under heaven is one: how could it be constrained by boundary lines? (If one's mind is set only on benefiting and delivering, how could one be bounded by territorial borders?) Therefore the Great Yu and Ji Wen were sage kings, (The Great Yu came from the Western Qiang and was born in Shiniu, in modern-day Maozhou circuit. King Wen of Zhou was born in Bin; both were Rong and Qiang.) while Youyu and Jin Midi were worthy ministers, (Youyu was an envoy from the Rong who went to Qin. Qin built palace halls, and Youyu criticized them, saying, "If these were not the work of ghosts, then they must have burdened the people." Jin Midi was an alien in the time of Emperor Wu of the Han, who was exceedingly worthy in the Han palace.) yet their births were not in the Central Xia. Taikang and King You of Zhou were dissolute lords, (Taikang was a king of Xia who was fond of hunting. His five younger brothers made songs to remonstrate with him, as he did not return for a hundred days. King You of Zhou doted on Baosi and brought about his own destruction.) and Han Zhuo and the Marquis of Shen were rebellious ministers, (Han Zhuo was a slanderous scion of the Boming clan who destroyed Yi and took his place. The Marquis of Shen destroyed King You of Zhou.) yet their births were not among the Four Barbarians. How could one judge worthiness or baseness by territorial realms? And Huangdi ascended Mount Kunlun, while the Lao Sage journeyed to the shifting sands, (Huangdi ascended Mount Kunlun to inquire into the Dao from Guangchengzi. Laozi journeyed to the shifting sands to seek Śākyamuni.) both esteeming what they heard and yearning for what resonated with them before they set out. (Corresponding voices answer each other; those sharing the same Dao seek each other out.) Now, barbarian horses are tamed in the stables, (Grooms tending horses are menial offices.) barbarian music is played in the court, (Such as the pipa and Qiang flute.) and barbarian cong-jades fill the treasury—(Cong and bi jades come from foreign lands.) were these ever called crude? Therefore, to aspire to the path of leaving the world, one must adopt the decorum of turning one's back on the world. (The shaven head and square robes.) To occupy its decorum yet not wish to exert oneself in its path is precisely what brings shame upon those of middling talent and above. (Occupying a place free of worldly dust and assuming the demeanor of renouncing the world, yet unable to advance in virtue and cultivate one's work, but instead restlessly busying oneself in the realm of wealth and profit—superior gentlemen look upon this with shame.) And when the sage Confucius spoke of "not daring to damage or injure," it was a warning against incurring harm through faults. (A fault is an error. Harm is calamity. The Classic of Filial Piety: "Body, hair, and skin must not be damaged or injured." This is a warning against faults and calamities.) As for Taibo taking the cutting of his hair as utmost virtue, and Yu Rang taking the lacquering of his body as upholding loyalty—(Wu Taibo was the eldest son of King Tai of Zhou. Because his youngest brother Jili was worthy, and moreover had fathered the sage son King Wen, [Taibo] knew that [Wen] would surely possess the realm, so he retreated to Wu, cut his hair, and tattooed his body; Confucius regarded this as utmost virtue. The Shiji: Zhao Xiangzi killed Zhi Bo. Yu Rang thought of avenging Zhi Bo. Xiangzi found out and ordered his countrymen to pursue him. Yu Rang then lacquered his body to alter his appearance and swallowed charcoal to alter his voice, entering his state. The Shiji regarded this as loyalty; hence cutting hair and changing appearance are not thereby disloyal or unfilial.) if they were able to establish virtue and make their names renowned, how could [filial piety] ever consist merely in preserving hair and skin intact? Thus, ancient and modern Huaxia, knowing their profound benefits, modeled themselves after them; not by altering appearances are the brilliant and worthy cast aside, nor does the state flourish merely by preserving caps and robes. Therefore Jiyou and Qu Yuan did not rely on hairpins and ribbons, (Ji You and Weiqu Yuan were both worthy; how could the worthiness of these two men have been brought about by hairpins and ribbons?) nor did Huan Tui and Shaozheng Mao become wicked through shaven heads and convict garments—(Huan Tui and Shaozheng Mao were both unbenevolent; how could it be because of shaven heads and convict garments?) why honor the one and disdain the other? In the past, King Wuling of Zhao first adopted barbarian clothing. (King Wuling of Zhao said to Lou Huan, "I wish to adopt barbarian clothing." Lou said, "Excellent." The ministers were unwilling. Feiyi attended the king, who also addressed him, saying, "I wish to adopt barbarian clothing, but I fear that later generations will criticize me; what should I do?" Yi said, "I have heard that undertaking doubtful matters yields no merit, and doubtful actions bring no fame. Since Your Majesty has determined to cast aside the burden of worldly customs, rule without looking back at the world's criticism! The foolish are blind to accomplished deeds; the wise perceive before things sprout. Why then should Your Majesty doubt?" Thereupon he adopted barbarian clothing.) After the Sui and Tang, caps and gowns were gradually reformed; what is esteemed is order, which is established as the royal standard. In recorded events and recorded speeches, none has been seen to ridicule this. (In governance, what is esteemed is ordering the people and establishing the royal standard; one has not seen ridicule directed at barbarian clothing.) Now Zhongni was not a minister of Yu or Xia, yet he revered the rites and music of the Three Dynasties; (Yu, Xia, and Shang.) Wu and Yue were not vassal states of Lu and Wei, yet they practiced the teachings of Ji Wen, the Duke of Zhou, and the Confucius clan. Even down to the official ranks, penal administration, and statutes instituted by Zheng of Qin and the Xin Court, later emperors and kings mostly adhered to current administration and continued them without discontinuance. (Although Qin Shi Huang and Wang Mang of the Xin were both devoid of the Way, the ranks and measures they instituted were often adopted without change.) If it were because the Second Emperor and Wang Mang lived together in the Central Xia that they were handed down and adopted in succession, whereas those from beyond the borders were not, then one would fail to understand the intent of employing Heaven's mandate to shepherd the people. (Heaven gave birth to the teeming masses and set up shepherds over them. It is also said: "To employ the Way of Heaven, why limit it to barbarian or Xia?") Now, all that is illuminated by the one sun and moon is our realm under heaven; if we practice the good of all under heaven, what then does not belong to our realm under heaven? In the past, when the King of Chu lost his bow and was content that someone of Chu would find it, Zhongni said, "A pity that his mind was not grander! Why not say a person will find it?" (The King of Chu lost his bow and said, "It will not go beyond someone of Chu finding it." When Zhongni heard this, he said, "A pity! Why did he not say: 'A person lost a bow, a person found it'?") However, those who speak today all indiscriminately refer to the Western Regions as "Hu," yet in truth the Hu comprise over thirty states beneath the Congling Mountains, whereas to the west of the mountains lies the state of Shendu, which is called the land of the Brahmans. Nevertheless, among them there are not lacking mixed groups with sunken eyes and chiselled eyebrows—just as in the Yi and Luo regions of this realm, where the Rong and Di press close against the royal domain; hence Shendu utterly disdains the name of "Hu." (Between the Yi and Luo rivers in present-day Henan, Rong people also reside.) Yet Wang Fu's Scripture of Converting the Barbarians says that because the Hu people were fierce and savage, he converted them by becoming the Buddha to make them shave their heads, wear convict garments, and sever their lineages—how deluded this is! In the Spring and Autumn period, the Red Di and White Di were deadly enemies of the feudal states, the Xianyun were fiercely rampant, and the Man and Yi threw Xia into disorder. (Kong means extremely. Hua means to disorder. In the Spring and Autumn period, the Di invaded Jin, Lu, and others.) Why did they not submit those who were near, but instead went far beyond the shifting sands to the edge of the great wilderness?