Adept of the Chinese teachings of the 4 letter path. The Emperor, having learned about this, considered that Mi Tzu acted wisely
HISTORICAL NOTES
SHI JI
LIFE OF LAO TZU AND HAN FEI TZI
Lao Tzu was born in the Principality of Chu, in the village of Quren. It was one of several villages in Laixian Township, Kusyan County. His surname is Li, his first name is Er, his middle name is Bo-yan, and his posthumous name is Dan. He served as keeper of the archives of the Zhou royal court.
One day Kung Tzu ( Kung Tzu, that is, Confucius (551-479 BC) is the founder of the ethical and political teaching known as Confucianism.) visited Zhou, where he visited Lao Tzu and asked him a question about the essence of etiquette.
Lao Tzu answered him:
“What you are talking about reminds me of a man whose bones have long since rotted in the grave and only his words are remembered.” A perfect man travels in a chariot in favorable times, and in unfavorable times he travels from place to place on foot. I heard that a good merchant hides the wealth he has accumulated from people. A virtuous person tries to show that he is stupid. Give up your arrogance and excessive desires, pompous manners and base passions - they will not bring you any benefit. This is what I would like to tell you.
After bidding farewell to Lao Tzu, Kong Tzu said to his disciples:
“I know that a bird flies, a beast runs, a fish swims.” A runner can be caught in a net, a swimmer can be caught in a net, a flyer can be shot down with an arrow. As for the dragon, I still don’t know how to catch it! He soars to the heavens on the wind and clouds! Now I met Lao Tzu, and he reminded me of a dragon.
Lao Tzu preached "Tao" and "Te" 1. He believed that a person should live in solitude and shun fame.
Lao Tzu lived in Zhou for a long time, but when the dynasty began to collapse, he decided to leave. When he passed through the Sangguan outpost, the head of this outpost turned to him with a request:
“You are going to retire from the world forever.” Write me something to remember.
Lao Tzu wrote a book in two parts, five thousand words. It talks about the essence of “Tao” and “Te”.
After this, Lao Tzu left, and no one knows anything more about his fate.
Some people say:
— Lao Lai Tzu was also from Chu. He wrote a book of fifteen chapters, which sets out the essence of the teachings of the Taoists. Lao Lai Tzu lived at the same time as Kong Tzu.
Others object:
“If it was Lao Tzu, could he have lived more than one hundred and sixty years?”
Still others claim:
“He lived for two hundred years because he cultivated himself and achieved longevity.
One hundred and twenty-nine years after the death of Kunzi, a historiographer of the Zhou dynasty named Dan, at a reception with the Qin prince Xian Gong 2, said:
— At first, the Principality of Qin lived in harmony with the Kingdom of Zhou, then in discord. This discord lasted more than five hundred years. Then came a period of agreement, which lasted seventy years, after which hegemons appeared 3.
Some said that the historiographer Dan was Lao Tzu. Others objected to them:
Nobody in the world knows if it all happened like that.
Lao Tzu was a scholar-hermit, and his son, named Zong, was the commander of the Principality of Wei, and he was granted possession of the city of Jiagan. Zong had a son named Zhu, Zhu also had a son - Gong, and Gong's son was Xia. Xia was in the service of the Han emperor Wen-di 4, and Xia's son, named Jie, received the title of tai-fu from Jiaoxi Wang 5, and therefore the Li family moved to live in the Principality of Qi. All the followers of Lao Tzu reviled Confucianism, and the followers of Kun Tzu reviled Lao Tzu.
- Is “Tao” really a truth if it is impermanent and incomprehensible to our minds? - asked the followers of Kun Tzu.
Li Er preached non-action. He said that if transformations take place on their own, every thing will fall into place.
Chuang Tzu ( Chuang Tzu- philosopher, representative of ancient Taoism, lived in the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e.) was from Myn 6, his name was Zhou. He held the position of a minor official in the city of Qiyuan and lived during the times of Liang Hui-wan 7 and Qi Xuan-wan 8 . His teaching was impeccable, but in essence it boiled down to the teaching of Lao Tzu. Zhuang Tzu's writings, consisting of more than one hundred thousand words, are mostly parables.
Zhuang Tzu wrote the parables “The Fisherman,” “The Robber Tao Zhe,” and “The Hacked Box.” In them, he ridiculed the followers of Kong Tzu and glorified the wisdom of Lao Tzu.
The works “Wei Lei-hsu” and “Geng San Tzu” contain only empty reasoning and no facts. But it would be nice, when trashing the Confucians and Mohists, to choose words and sentences more carefully, to compare facts and circumstances.
Although there are many erudite scientists in the world, they are not without this shortcoming: their expressions are vague, they serve for self-praise, and therefore the Vanirs and the Gunas ( Vanas and Gunas- rulers of kingdoms) cannot understand them.
Wei Wang 9, having heard about the wisdom of Zhuang Zhou, sent an ambassador to him with an offer to become his xiang.
After listening to the ambassador, Zhuang Zhou laughed and said:
- You promise everything - thousands of gold, great benefits, high post, honors and respect! But have you never seen bulls being sacrificed in suburban temples? They are fattened for many years, dressed in patterned brocade, and in this form they are led to the temple. If at such a moment the bull wanted to become a small, insignificant pig, would he succeed? Get out of here and don't desecrate me! It is better to wallow in a dirty ditch than to constantly be under the yoke of a ruler! To serve no one until the end of my days is my cherished desire!
Shen Bu-hai ( Shen Bu-hai- philosopher (385-337 BC.) was originally from Jing and served as a low-ranking official in the Principality of Zheng. But thanks to his learning, he became a close friend of the Han prince Zhao-hou and received from him the position of xiang. He managed the affairs of the entire principality, and for fifteen years he had no clashes with neighboring princes.
While Shen Tzu was alive, calm reigned in the Principality of Han, the army was strong and no one dared to invade the state.
The teachings of Shen Tzu are closely related to Taoism. The main thing in it is strict compliance with the laws. Shen Tzu wrote a book consisting of two parts, which was named after the author “Shen Tzu”.
Han Feizi 10 was a relative of the Han ruler. He loved to study ancient laws and looked for their roots in the teachings of the Taoists. Han Fei-tzu was a stutterer and did not have the gift of oratory, but he wrote beautifully.
Together with Li Si 11, he studied with the famous scientist Xun Qing 12. Li Si believed that his abilities were far inferior to Han Feizi.
Seeing that the Principality of Han was too small to fight with other princes, Han Feizi wrote several letters to the Han Wang, which contained advice regarding government. But the Han Wang did not listen to the advice of Han Feizi.
Han Fei-tzu was extremely upset that the rulers of the state did not strive to correct and glorify the laws, but wanted to keep their subjects in line by force. To create a rich state and a powerful army, one should seek the appointment of wise people to positions. But it turns out the other way around - they invite all sorts of greedy people who are mired in depravity, and put them above those who have real merits.
Han Fei-tzu believed that the Confucians with their teachings were causing confusion in the laws, and armed rogues were trampling the laws with weapons. Thus, in times of peace, only the ambitious are held in high esteem, and in difficult times, men wearing helmets and armor are used.
Nowadays it turns out that people maintained by the state are not suitable for service, and the state does not support those suitable for service. How sad it is that deceitful and dishonest dignitaries stand in the way of honest and upright people!
Han Fei-tzu learned the reasons for the destruction of kingdoms in the past and therefore wrote “The Indignation of the Lonely One,” “The Five Wormholes,” “A Collection of Advice on the Internal and External Actions of the Sovereign,” “On the Struggle of Opinions,” and “On How Difficult it is to Persuade.” In total, these books contain more than one hundred thousand words.
Han Fei-tzu knew how difficult it can be to convince people, and he outlined all his observations in detail in a book he called “On How Difficult it is to Convince.”
He eventually died in the Principality of Qin, unable to prove his case.
His book “On the Difficulty of Persuasion” says:
“The difficulty of convincing lies not in the fact that I know that I have to convince someone, and not in being able to clearly express my thoughts with the help of eloquence, and not in the fact that sometimes I have to go against the prevailing erroneous views.
The difficulty of persuasion is to know the feelings of the one to whom I am speaking and to be able to approach him.
If the one to whom I am addressing puts glory above all else, and I begin to talk to him only about great benefits and profit, he will consider the conversation humiliating for himself, and he will treat me as a low person deserving of contempt and will certainly shun me.
If the one to whom I turn puts great benefits and profit above all else, and I begin to explain to him that glory is above all, I will not find sympathy and support from him.
If the one to whom I am addressing puts benefits and profit above all else, but pretends that fame is above all for him, and I begin to talk to him only about fame, he will try to pretend that he agrees with my arguments, but in fact will try to get rid of me. If, on the contrary, I begin to convince him that the main thing is great benefits and profit, he will like my suggestions, but he will pretend that he is alienated from me.
All this should be known first of all.
After all, a business is successful only if it is done in secret; and the advice turns out to be useless and leads to failure if it is disclosed. And it is not necessary that I disclose it myself. If I talk about what should be hidden, it will be fraught with dangerous consequences for myself.
If my master makes a mistake that could cause bad consequences, and I, as an adviser, even with the best intentions, point this out to him in order to prevent evil, then I will be in danger.
If I have not yet gained the master's favor and given wise advice, thanks to which the master achieved success in his intended business, my merits will be nullified. If I gave unsuccessful advice and my master failed, I will be suspected of deception, and this is fraught with dangerous consequences for me.
After all, having received advice and achieved success, the master will try to attribute all the merit to himself; and if I hint to him that I also have a share in the merits, this is fraught with dangerous consequences for me.
If my master tries to show that everything he has done is his merit, and I hint to him that I know his plans, this is fraught with dangerous consequences for me.
To push a gentleman to do something that he certainly will not do, and to restrain him from something from which he cannot be restrained, is dangerous for myself.
If I talk to him about great people, he will think that I am belittling myself; If we talk about insignificant people, he will think that I want to boast about my own merits.
If we talk about the fact that the master loves, he will consider this to be accommodating to him; if we talk about what the master hates, he will perceive this as a desire to test him.
If I am too laconic, I will be considered ignorant and ridiculed. If I am too vague and florid in my speeches, I will tire the master with them.
If I speak only in such a way as to please the master’s wishes, they will say about me: “I’m cowardly and don’t finish speaking.”
If, on the contrary, I express my thoughts too widely and freely, they will say about me: “Rude and arrogant.”
The advisor must take all these difficulties into account.
Every adviser is obliged to know and embellish everything that pleases the one to whom he gives advice, and not to say unpleasant things to him.
If the gentleman makes his own calculations, but makes a mistake, he should not allow it to worsen; if the gentleman is confirmed in his decision, there is no need to say that his decision runs counter to his aspirations. If the gentleman believes that he has enough strength to accomplish some task, there is no need to interfere with him.
If a gentleman is going to act with someone according to a common plan, praising the people with whom he is acting at the same time, try to show that there will be no harm from this. If the gentleman fails, try to present the matter in such a way that there was no failure.
The deepest devotion always prevails, and if it is expressed in words, nothing can resist it. Only by proving your devotion can you become close to the master and not arouse his suspicion. The difficulty is to be fully known. If you enjoy the favor of your master for a long time, and all his associates will be illuminated by the rays of his glory, then all your judgments about benefits and harms will not arouse suspicion, objections will not be blamed, all your indications of truth and lies will serve as your decoration . This will mean that you have achieved success.
Yi Yin 13 was a cook, Boli Xi 14 was a captive slave, but both of them interfered in the affairs of the rulers, and therefore they are considered sages. They could not live without working. All service people are like that.
There once lived a rich man in the Principality of Song. The rain washed away the wall of his house, and the son said:
“The wall needs to be fixed, otherwise we might get robbed.”
The neighbor's father gave the same advice.
At night, robbers actually broke into the house and stole a lot of valuables. Everyone in the family knew the son well, and he was above suspicion, but all suspicion fell on the neighbor’s father.
In the old days, Zheng Wu Gong was going to go to war against the Principality of Hu and for this purpose he married his son to the daughter of the local ruler. Then he turned to the dignitaries for advice:
- I'm going to start a war. Who can we fight against?
“Against Hu,” answered Guan Chi-si.
Wu-kung ordered the execution of Guan Qi-si, telling him as an edification:
- Hu is a brotherly state! How dare you advise me to fight him?
The ruler of the Principality of Hu, having learned about this, decided that the Zheng prince was his friend, and did not think that the Principality of Zheng could carry out an attack. And Wu Gong's troops attacked by surprise and captured Hu.
Both advisers were fair and distinguished by their deep knowledge of the matter. However, one of them was executed, and the other was suspected.
Here is an example of the fact that the difficulty lies not in knowledge, but in the application of one’s knowledge.
Mi Zi once enjoyed the favor of the Wei ruler. According to the laws of the Principality of Wei, anyone who used the prince's chariot without permission had their legs cut off. One night, someone told Mi Tzu that his mother was ill, and he, no matter what, rode to her in a princely chariot.
The Emperor, having learned about this, considered that Mi Tzu acted wisely.
- This is a worthy son! - he admired. “For his mother’s sake, he committed an offense for which his legs are cut off!”
And another time, while walking with the sovereign in the garden, Mi Tzu tried a peach - it turned out to be sweet. Then Mi Tzu gave the peach to the sovereign.
- He loves me! - the sovereign rejoiced. - He sacrifices everything for me!
But Mi Tzu became decrepit, and the sovereign’s love for him weakened. One day the sovereign became angry with him and said:
“He once stole my chariot and treated me to a leftover peach!”
Mi Zi's actions remained the same from beginning to end, but at first he was considered wise and then considered a criminal. This proves that love and hate are extremely changeable.
Therefore, as long as you enjoy the favor of the master, all your knowledge is given credit to you and the master’s affection for you increases.
If the master hates you, he can accuse you of any crime and will shun you.
Therefore, before giving advice, the adviser should find out whether the master loves him or hates him.
A dragon is also an animal, you can tease it and even sit astride it. But it has erect scales on its neck, and if a person touches them, the dragon will kill him.
Every gentleman also has such scales, and if the adviser manages not to touch them, he will achieve everything.”
Someone brought Han Feizi's book to Qin. After reading “The Indignation of the Lonely One” and “The Five Wormholes,” the Qin Wang exclaimed in admiration:
“These books were written by Han Fei-tzu,” Li Si explained to him.
At this time, the Qin Wang was just about to attack the Principality of Han. When trouble loomed, the Han ruler, who had hitherto rejected the advice of Han Fei-tzu, sent him as an ambassador to Qin.
The Qin Wang rejoiced at the arrival of Han Feizi, but did not trust him. Li Si and Yao Jia took advantage of this. They decided to destroy Han Fei-tzu and for this purpose they slandered him to the Qin Wang:
— Han Fei-tzu is a relative of the Han ruler. You, Great Wang, want to conquer the princes, but Han Fei-tzu acts in favor of the Han, and not in favor of the Qin. That's how it is human nature! If you do not apprehend him and allow him to return home, it will be a great disaster for us. Better execute him, even if it is a violation of the laws.
The Qin Wang agreed and ordered Han Feizi to be taken into custody. Then Li Si sent his servant to give the prisoner poison so that he would commit suicide.
Han Fei Tzu still hoped to justify himself to the Qin Wang, but was not accepted by him. However, subsequently the Qin Wang repented of what he had done and ordered Han Fei-tzu to be pardoned. But it was too late - Han Fei-tzu was no longer alive.
Shen Tzu and Han Fei Tzu left their books to their descendants. Besides them, there were many other scholars, but I mourn only for Han Fei-tzu, who wrote about how difficult it can be to persuade, and himself was unable to avoid a sad fate.
I, the court historian Sima Qian, will add on my own behalf:
— Lao Tzu taught that “Tao” is ethereal, it is non-existence, it is intangible, it is consistent with circumstances, that any transformation occurs without external influence. This is what is valuable in the teachings of Lao Tzu. Therefore, the book he wrote is deep in content, and it is difficult to understand it completely.
Zhuang Tzu disseminated the thoughts set out in his treatise on Tao and Te. The main thing in his teaching is a return to nature.
Shen Tzu diligently preached the doctrine of name and essence.
Han Fei Tzu established a standard for assessing facts and phenomena, for clarifying truth and lies. His cruelty is brought to the limit, and his mercy is reduced to nothing. The source for it was the doctrine of “Tao” and “de”.
And only Lao Tzu is immense!
The religious doctrine of Taoism is the most important in the Chinese tradition. This direction includes both mystical practices (shamanism, fortune telling, meditation and religious ceremonies), as well as a philosophical justification for the meaning of human existence on earth.
What is the essence of the doctrine of Tao?
At the center of this religious movement is the idea of Tao. It is difficult for people brought up in the Western value system to fully comprehend this fundamental concept. In the generally accepted version, Tao is seen as a path, an endless movement, personifying the Universal Law and containing everything and everyone.
Tao is present everywhere, it is the beginning of everything in the world, even the most insignificant speck of dust. Heaven and earth, people and nature, space and planets - everything obeys Tao.
A person’s task is to live life in such a way as to merge with this divine principle of the universe.
The first teachers of Taoism
Historians believe that the first germs of the teaching of Tao can be seen in Chinese society of the 4th century BC. At that time, Taoism was not yet an independent teaching, but there were already ideas about the universal law that dominates all living beings. The pagan cults of the ancient Chinese were accompanied by shamanic practices and belief in the immortality of people.
It is believed that Taoism finally emerged after another seven centuries, actually developing in parallel with the teachings of Confucius.
In different traditions it is customary to name different main teachers of Taoism. The first direction considers Emperor Huangdi, who became a legend after his death, to be the teacher of Tao. Another tradition calls the founder of Taoism the “wisest of men,” the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. It is he who is the author of the revered religious movement books "Tao Te Ching".
Teachings on the Tao of the Yellow Emperor Huangdi
Emperor Huangdi (also considered the great and especially revered ancestor of all Chinese) bore a divine name, which indicated his celestial origin from the moon and lightning. The emperor united the warring Chinese tribes and created a powerful state. He also created for him religious doctrine.