Texts of Taoism (SBE 40): Book XXX. Yüeh Kien, or 'Delight in the Sword-fight.'
Formerly, king Wän of Kâo 2 delighted in the sword-fight. More than three thousand men, masters of the weapon, appeared as his guests, lining the way on either side of his gate, and fighting together before him day and night. Over a hundred of them would die or be (severely) wounded in the course of a year, but he was never weary of looking on (at their engagements), so fond was he of them. The thing continued for three years, when the kingdom began to decay, and other states to plan measures against it. The crown-prince Khwei 3 was distressed, and laid the case before his attendants, saying, 'If any one can persuade the king, and put an end to these swordsmen, I will give him a thousand ounces of
The crown-prince said, 'Yes; but my (father), the king, will see none but swordsmen.' Kwang-dze replied, 'I know; but I am expert in the use of the sword.' 'That is well,' observed the prince; 'but the swordsmen whom his Majesty sees all have their hair in a tangle, with whiskers projecting out. They wear slouching caps with coarse and unornamented tassels, and their coats are cut short behind. They have staring eyes, and talk about the hazards of
King Wän looked lost in amazement, and said again, 'And what about the sword of a feudal lord?' (Kwang-dze) replied, 'This sword has wise and brave officers for its point; pure and disinterested officers for its edge; able and honourable officers for its back; loyal and sage officers for its hilt; valiant and eminent officers for its sheath. When this sword is thrust directly forward, as in the former case, there is nothing in front of it; when directed upwards, there is nothing above it; when laid down, there is nothing below it; when wheeled round, there is nothing on any side of it. Above, its law is taken from the round heaven, and is in accordance with the three luminaries; below, its law is taken from the square earth, and is in accordance with the four seasons; between, it is in harmony with the minds of the people, and in all the parts of the state there is peace. Let this sword be once used, and you seem to hear the crash of the thunder-peal. Within
186:1 See vol. xxxix, pp. 158, 159. 186:2 Probably king Hui-wän (B.C. 298-265) of Kâo, one of the states into which the great state of Zin was subdivided, and which afterwards all claimed the sovereignty of the kingdom. In this Book Kwang-dze appears as a contemporary of king Wän, which makes the 'formerly' with which the paragraph commences seem strange. 186:3 Sze-mâ Khien says nothing of king Wän's love of the sword-fight, nor of this son Khwei. He says that in 265 Wän was succeeded by his son Tan (
187:1 This, I think, is the meaning. It may possibly mean 'for presents to your followers in attendance on you.' 189:1 Some noted place in the state of Yen, the capital of which was near the site of the present Peking. 189:2 A wall, north of Yen, built as a barrier of defence against the northern tribes. 189:3 Mount Thâi. 189:4 A region lying along the present gulf of Kih-lî, between the Pei-ho and the Khing-ho in Shan-tung. 190:1 By this sword Kwang-dze evidently means the power of the sovereign, supported by the strength of the kingdom, and directed by good government. 191:1 Kwang-dze's parables had had their intended effect. It was not in his mind to do anything for the swordsmen. The commentators say:--'Indignant at not being treated as they had been before, they all killed themselves.'PART III. SECTION VIII.
Yüeh Kien, or 'Delight in the Sword-fight 1.'
Footnotes
), who appears to have been quite young.