Friday, September 2, 2011

Chapter 7, Part 4 - Lieh Tzu

The Master Lieh Tzu was very poor, and his face wore a hungry look. A certain stranger spoke about it to Tzu Yang, of Cheng. 'Lieh Yü-k'ou,' said he, 'is a scholar in possession of Tao. Yet here he is, living in destitution, within your Excellency's dominion. It surely cannot be that you have no liking for scholars?'

Tzu Yang forthwith directed that an official allowance of grain should be sent to him. Lieh Tzu came out to receive the messengers, made two low bows and declined the gift, whereupon the messengers went away, and Lieh Tzu reentered the house. There he was confronted by his Wife, who beat her breast and cried aloud: 'I have always understood that the wife and family of a man of Tao live a life of ease and pleasure. Yet now, when his Honor sends you a present of food, on account of your starved appearance, you refuse to accept it! I suppose you will call that "destiny"!'

The Master Lieh Tzu smiled and replied: 'The Minister did not know about me himself. His present of grain was made on the suggestion of another. If it had been a question of punishing me, that too would have been done at some one else's prompting. That is the reason why I did not accept the gift.'

Later on, the masses rose in actual rebellion against Tzu Yang, and slew him.
~ Lionel Giles translation via Terebess Asia Online ~
Go here to read the introductory post to the chapters of the Book of Lieh Tzu.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments are unmoderated, so you can write whatever you want.