鐔津文集 8.5

8.5

Master Ziran is a man of the Way from the Western Mountains. He lived in humble circumstances for thirty years, mingling and wandering with old farmers and gardeners, never once using his words to cross worldly affairs. In the early Kangding era, the court sought scholars from the wilderness, and an intimate acquaintance intended to present him via the Way to the Son of Heaven. Master Ziran drew back and departed without looking back. I have an old acquaintance with Master Ziran. Hearing of this, I was puzzled, believing that Master Ziran is a worthy man who ought not to remain unseen. As I thought we were about to part far away and would not be able to converse, I wrote this text to admonish him, saying: “Sir, Master Ziran, you have read books and investigated the Way of Yao and Shun; how can it be right to be selfish when fulfilling your aspirations? One should extend it to all under Heaven and share it with others; only when there is no choice does one retreat to the mountain forests. In the past, Zeng Dian and Yan Yuan delighted in the Way, ending in obscurity without altering their purpose; they did so because the fortune of their times was vastly awry. Now, the ruler of men who unifies all under Heaven possesses the Way; your times, Master Ziran, are surely different. How can one speak of you in the same breath as those two gentlemen? I have often said that the way of the hermit has three kinds: the heavenly hermit, the nominal hermit, and the physical hermit. The physical hermit secretly conceals and deeply hides himself, going away and never returning; he is not fond of worldly affairs and disdains others. Changju and Jieni are such men. The nominal hermit pays no regard to order or disorder, drifting with the times; he is favored by those who comply with official stipends to preserve their lives. Dongfang Manqian and Yang Ziyun are such men. The heavenly hermit has a mind that is neither congealed nor obstructed, nor rigidly bound by affairs, free from dogmatism and obstinacy; he acts when it is permissible to act and stops when it is permissible to stop. He is favored by those who comprehend changes. Grand Duke Wang, Confucius, and Yan Yuan are such men. Sir, Master Ziran, your aspiration lies with Confucius, yet that which you keep to is of the kind of Changju and Jieni. Those men Changju and Jieni were petty and narrow, merely cultivating their own goodness and nourishing themselves, without any mind of concern for all under Heaven; they are not worthy of being associated with. Master Ziran, you ought surely to consider this. Rather than your Way remaining in the mountain forests, how much better if your Way were in all under Heaven? Rather than delighting with apes, monkeys, and deer, how much better to take joy with ruler and minister, father and son? If your aspiration is far-reaching and your integrity great, the reputation made by it will be illustrious, stirring heaven and earth and illuminating ten thousand generations—would that not be magnificent! Consider this, Master Ziran! Go forth, do not hesitate; how could those who know words regard my words as wild?”