Their happiness, however, is only relative happiness. If things only enjoy themselves in their finite spheres, their enjoyment must also be finite. Thus in his first chapter, Chuang Tzu concludes his stories with one about the re-ally independent man who transcends the finite and becomes one with the infinite, so that he enjoys infinite and absolute happiness. Because he tran-scends the finite and identifies himself with the infinite, he has "no self." Because he follows the nature of things and lets everything enjoy itself, he has no achievement. And because he is one with the Too, which is un— namable, he has "no name."
This idea is developed by the Hsiang-Kuo Commentary with clarity and eloquence: Everything has its proper nature, and that nature has its proper limitation. The differences between things are like those between small and great knowledge, short and long life....All believe in their own sphere and none is intrinsically superior to others." After giving different illustrations, Chuang Tzu concludes with the independent man who forgets his own self and its opposite, and who ignores all the differences. ' All things enjoy them-selves in their own sphere, but the independent man has neither achievement nor name. Therefore, he who unites the great and the small is one who ig-nores the distinction between the great and the small. If one insists on the distinctions, the roc, the cicada, the small officer, and Lieh Tzu riding on the wind, are all troublesome things. He who equalizes life and death is one who ignores the distinction of life and death. If one insists on the distinction, the ta ch'un [an old tree] and the chrysalis, P'eng Tsu [a Chinese Methuse-lah] and the morning mushroom, all suffer early death. Therefore, he who makes excursion iirto the realm of non— distinction between great and small has no limitation. He who ignores the distinction of life and death has no
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terminal. But those whose happiness lies within the finite sphere will certain-ly suffer limitation. Though they are allowed to make excursions, they are not ahle to he independent. (Ch. I.)
In the first chapter, Chuang Tzu describes the independent man as one who chariots on the normality oi the universe, rides upon the transformation of the six elements, and makes excursion into the infinite. On this the Hsiang-Kuo Commentary remarks: "The universe is the general name of all things. The universe has all things as its contents, and all things must take Tzu Jan Lthe natural] as their norm. What is spontaneously so, and not made to be so, is the natural. The roc can fly in high places, the quail in low ones. The ta-ch'un tree can live for a long time, the mushroom for a short one. All these capacities are natural, and are not caused or learned. They are not caused to be so, but are naturally so; that is the reason why they are normal. Therefore to chariot on the normality of the universe is to follow the nature of things. To ride upon the transformation of the six dements is to make excur-sion along the road of change and evolution. If one proceeds in this way, where can one reach the end? If one chariots on whatever one meets, what will one be required to depend upon? This is the happiness and freedom of the perfect man who unites his own self with its opposite.
If one has to depend upon something, one cannot be happy, unless one gets hold of the thing upon which one depends. Although Lieh Tzu could pursue his way in such a fine manner, he still had to depend upon the wind, and the roc was even more dependent. Only he who makes no distinction between himself and other things and follows the great evolution, can really be independent and always free. He not only sets himself free, but also fol-lows the nature of those who have to depend upon something, allowing them to have that something upon which they depend. When they have that upon which they depend, they all enjoy the Great Freedom. (Ch. I.)
In the Hsiang-Kuo system, the Tao is really nothing. In this system, T ien or T'ien Ti (literally "Heaven" or "Heaven and Earth," but here translated as the universe) becomes the most important idea. T ien is the general name of things, and is thus the totality of all that is. To see things from the point of view of T ien and to identify oneself with T ien, is to transcend things and their differences, or, as the Neo—Taoists said, to transcend shapes and features.
Thus the Hsiang-Kuo Commentary, besides making important revisions in original Taoism, also expressed more articulately what in the Chuang-tzu is only suggestive. Those, however, who prefer suggestivencss to articulateness, would no doubt agree with a certain Ch an monk who remarked: People say that it was Kuo Hsiang who wrote a commentary on Chuang Tzu. I would say that it was Chuang Tzu who wrote a commentary on Kuo Hsiang. (See chapter one, page 12..)
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CHAPTER 20
NEO-TAOISM: THE SENTIMENTALISTS
IN their Commentary to the Chuang—tzu, Hsiang Hsiu and Kuo Hsiang gave a theoretical exposition of the man who has a mind or spirit transcending the distinctions of things and who lives "according to himself but not according to others. ' This quality of such a man is the essence of what the Chinese caA feng liu.
Feng Liu and the Romantic Spirit
In order to understand feng liu, we must turn to the Shih-shuo Hsin-yii or Contemporary Records of New Discourses (abbreviated as Shih-shuo), a work by Liu Yi-ch'ing (403-444), supplemented by a commentary by Liu Hsiin (463-511). The Neo-Taoists and their Buddhist friends of the Chin dynasty were famous for what was known at the time as ch'ing t an, that is, pure or fine conversation. The art of such conversation consisted in expressing the best thought, which was usually Taoistic, in the best language and tersest phraseology. Because of its rather precious nature, it could be held only be-tween friends of a comparable and rather high intellectual level, and hence it was regarded as one of the most refined of intellectual aclivilies. The Shih— shuo is a record of many such pure conversations and their famous partic-ipants. Through them, it gives a vivid picture of those people of the third and fourth centuries who were followers of the feng liu ideas. Ever since its com-pilation, therefore, it has been a major source for studying the feng liu tradi-tion.
What, then, is the meaning of feng liu? It is one of those elusive terms which to the initiated conveys a wealth of ideas, but is most difficult to translate exactly. Literally, the two words that form it mean "wind and stream," which does not seem to help us very much. Nevertheless, they do, perhaps, suggest something of the freedom and ease which are some of the characteristics of the quality of feng liu.
I confess that I have not yet understood the full significance of the words
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romanticism or romantic in English, but I suspect that they are a fairly rough equivalent of feng liu. Feng liu is chiefly connected with Taoism. This is one of the reasons why I have said in chapter two that the Confucianist and Taoist traditions in Chinese history are in some degree equivalent to the classical and romantic traditions in the West.
The Han (206 B.C.-A.D. 22O) and Chin (265-420) are not only the names of two different dynasties in Chinese history, but also, because of their very different social, political, and cultural characteristics, are designations of two different styles of literature and art, and of two different manners of living. The Han style and manner are ones of dignity and grandeur; those of the Chin are ones of elegance and freedom. Elegance is also one of the charac-teristics oifeng liu.
Yang Chu s Garden of Pleasure
Something must first be said here about the seventh chapter in the Taoist work known as the Lieh—tzu, a chapter titled Yang Chu (translated by Anton Forke as Yang Chu's Garden of Pleasure). As we have already seen in our chapter six, what is said in this "Yang Chu" chapter cannot represent the view of the genuine Yang Chu of ancient times. The Lieh—lzu itself, in-deed, is now considered by Chinese scholars as a work of the third century A.D. Hence its "Yang Chu" chapter must also be a production of this peri-od. It accords well with the general trend of thought of that time, and is in fact an expression of one aspect of feng liu.
In the "Yang Chu chapter, a distinction is made between the external and the internal. Thus the spurious "Yang Chu" is reported as saying: There are four things which do not allow people to have peace. The first is long life, the second is reputation, the third is rank, and the fourth is riches. Those who have these things fear ghosts, fear men, fear power, and fear punishment. They are called fugitives....Their lives are controlled by exter-nals. But those who follow their destiny do not desire long life. Those who are not fond of honor do not desire reputation. Those who do not want power desire no rank. And those who are not avaricious have no desire for riches. Of this sort of men it may be said that they live in accordance with their na-ture. ...They regulate their lives by internal things."
In another passage an imaginary conversation is recorded between Tzu-ch an, a famous statesman of the state of Cheng who lived in the sixth cen-tury B.C., and his two brothers. Tzu—eh an governed the state for three years and governed well. But his two brothers were out of his control; one of them was fond of feasting and the other of gallantry.
One day, Tzu-ch an spoke to his brothers, saying: "Those things in which man is superior to beasts and birds are his mental faculties. Through them he gets righteousness and propriety, and so glory and rank fall to his share. You are only moved by what excites your senses, and indulge only in licen-
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tious desires, endangering your lives and natures.... '
To this the brothers answered: "if one tries to set external things in order, these external things do not necessarily become well —ordered, and one s person is already given toil and trouble. But if one tries to set the internal in order, the external things do not necessarily fall into disorder, and one's na-ture becomes free and at ease. Your system of regulating external things will do temporarily and for a single kingdom, but it is not in harmony with the human heart. Our method of regulating what is internal, on the contrary, can be extended to the whole world, and [when it is extended] there is no need for princes and ministers."
What this chapter calls regulating the internal corresponds to what Hsiang-Kuo call living according to oneself; what it calls regulating external things corresponds to what Hsiang-Kuo call living according to others. One should live according to oneself, and not according to others. That is to say, one should live in accord with one's own reason or impulse, and not accord-ing to the customs and morals ol the time. To use a common expression of the third and fourth centuries, one should live according to tzu —jan (the spontaneous, the natural), and not according to ming-chiao (institutions and morals). All the Neo-Taoists agree on this. But there is still a difference a-mong them between the rationalists and sentimentalists. The former, as rep-resented by Hsiang-Kuo, emphasize living according to reason, while the latter, as represented by the men who will be mentioned below, emphasize living according to impulse.
The idea of living according to impulse is expressed in extreme form in the "Yang Chu" chapter. In one passage we read that Yen P'ing-chung asked Kuan Yi—wu (both famous statesmen of the state of Ch i in ancient times, though historically they were not contemporaries) about cultivating life. Kuan Yi-wu replied: 'The only way is to give it its free course, neither checking nor obstructing it. Yen P ing—chung asked: And as to details?
"Kuan Yi-wu replied: 'Allow the ear to hear anything that it likes to hear. Allow the eye to see whatever it likes to see. Allow the nose to smell whatev-er it likes to smell. Allow the mouth to say whatever it likes to say. Allow the body to enjoy whatever it likes to enjoy. Allow the mind to do whatever it likes to do.
What the ear likes to hear is music, and prohibition of the hearing of music is called obstruction to the ear. What the eye likes to see is beauty, and prohibition of the seeing of beauty is called obstruction to sight. What the nose likes to smell is perfume, and prohibition of the smelling of perfume is called obstruction to smell. Whal the mouth likes to talk about is right and wrong, and prohibition of the talking about right and wrong is called obstruc-tion to understanding. What the body likes to enjoy is rich food and fine clothing, and prohibition of the enjoying of these is called obstruction to the sensations of the body. What the mind likes is to be free, and prohibition of this freedom is called obstruction to the nature.
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All these obstructions are the main causes of the vexations of life. To get rid of these causes and enjoy oneself until death, for a day, a month, a year, or ten years-this is what I call cultivating life. To cling to these causes and be unable to rid oneself of them, so as thus to have a long but sad life, extending a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand years-this is not what I call cultivating life.'
Kuan Yi—wu then went on: Now that I have told you about cultivating life, what about the way of taking care of the dead?' Yen P ing -chung replied: 'Taking care of the dead is a very simple matter....For once I am dead, what does it matter to me? They may burn my body, or cast it into deep water, or inter it, or leave it uninterred, or throw it wrapped up in a mat into some ditch, or cover it with princely apparel and embroidered gar-ments and rest it in a stone sarcophagus. All depends on chance.'
"Turning to Pao-shu Huang-tzu, Kuan Yi-wu then said : 'We two have by this made some progress in the way of life and death.
Living According to Impulse
What the "Yang Chu" chapter here describes represents the spirit of the age of Chin, but not the whole or best of that spirit. For in this chapter, us exemplified by the above, what "Yang Chu" seems to be interested in is mostly the search for pleasure of a rather coarse sort. To be sure, the pursuit of such pleasure is not, according to Neo-Taoism, necessarily to be despised. Nevertheless, if this is made our sole aim, without any understanding of what "transcends shapes and features," to use the Neo-Taoist expression, this can hardly be called feng liu in the best sense of the term.
In the Shih—shuo we have a story about Liu Ling (c. 121—c. yX)), one of the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove (seven famous scholars" who gathered for frequent convivial conversations in a certain bamboo grove). This story tells us that Liu evoked criticism through his habit of remaining completely naked when in his room. To his critics he rejoined: "I take the whole universe as my house and my own room as my clothing. Why, then, do you enter here into my trousers? (Ch. 2.3) Thus Liu Ling, though he sought for pleasure, had a feeling of what lies beyond the world, i.e., the universe. This feeling is essential for the quality atfeng liu.
