Huai Nan Tzu
Huai Nan Tzu (c. 179 — 122 BC), born Liu An, was a Chinese scholar, and a Prince of the Han dynasty of China. He was the grandson of Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. An early Taoist work "The Book of the Prince of Huai Nan'' is attributed to him. He is best known for editing Huainanzi (139 BC), a compendium of Daoist, Confucianist, and Legalist teachings and is credited for inventing tofu. Early texts represent Liu An in three ways: the "author-editor of a respected philosophical symposium", the "bumbling rebel who took his life to avoid arrest", and the successful Daoist adept who transformed into a xian and "rose into the air to escape prosecution for trumped-up charges of treason and flew to eternal life.Wisdom and Quotes
- A white bone much resembles ivory; most men fail to distinguish the one from the other. So with men. The specious kind appears to have goodness, but it is not really so.
- A Ch'i individual stole some money at a crowded bazaar. He was walking away with it when the police asked him why it was that he stole the money in the market. The thief replied that the sight of the money filled his mind to the exclusion of the policeman. So his desires made him forgetful of the nature of his act.
- Don't fight for peace. Peace will come naturally.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- A hundred rivers, from other sources may they be, shall all return to the sea.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- Balance is the beginning of the Way. Emptiness is the heart of the way.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- In all the vicissitudes of their lives, sages are of one will, never forgetting to benefit people.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- Right and wrong are situational. In the appropriate situation, nothing is wrong. Without the appropriate situation, nothing is right.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- Sages are not controlled by names, not governed by plans, not burdened by affairs, and not ruled by intellect. They are concealed in formlessness; their acts are traceless, and their roamings are trackless.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- Sages do not let their desires disturb harmony… when they are happy, they do not rejoice too much, and when they are sad, they do not grieve too much.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- Sages do not need authority to be noble, do not need wealth to be rich, and do not need power to be strong. Peaceful and empty, they are not subject to outside influences; they fly freely with evolution.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- Sages wear what no one looks at, do what no one watches, and say what no one disputes… they are different but appear ordinary.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- The beginnings of fortune and calamity are subtle, so people are heedless of them. Only sages see the beginning and know the end.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- There are three dangers in the world: To have many privileges but few virtues… To be high in rank but low on ability… To receive a large salary without personally accomplishing much… So ‘people may gain by loss and may lose by gain.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- Those who are wise cultivate the inner root and do not make a display of the outer twigs.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- When rites and duties become decorations they breed artificial and hypocritical people.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- Good luck changes into bad and bad luck changes into good. The workings of events are beyond comprehension.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- Too many deals impoverish the merchant, too much artistry exhausts the craftsman. When the span of a tree is great, its height is compromised. When the flow of a river is wide, its depth is compromised. If you have knowledge but not skillful means, you will never accomplish anything.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
- Those who trust themselves cannot be swayed by slander or flattery. Those whose knowledge is sufficient cannot be enticed by power or profit.
- Huainanzi, written under the patronage of Liu An
Terence