Explore Chapter 6 of '故事新编' with the original Chinese text, English translation, detailed Chinese vocabulary explanations, and audio of the Chinese original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
"I am always like this," replied Laozi. "And how about you? Have you read all the books in the collection?"
"I have read them all. But..." Confucius looked rather agitated, a state he had never been in before. "I have studied the Six Classics-the Book of Songs, the Book of Documents, the Book of Rites, the Book of Music, the Book of Changes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals-for a long time, and I consider myself thoroughly familiar with them. I have visited seventy-two rulers, but none would employ me. Is it really so hard to understand people, or is it the 'Way' that is hard to understand?"
"You are still fortunate," said Laozi, "not to have met a capable ruler. The Six Classics are merely the traces of the ancient kings. How can they be the things that created the traces? Your words are like the traces. Traces are made by shoes, but are the traces the shoes themselves?" After a pause, he continued, "White egrets only need to gaze, their eyes unmoving, yet they naturally conceive. Insects, the male calls from upwind, the female responds from downwind, and they naturally conceive. Some creatures are hermaphroditic, so they naturally conceive. Nature cannot be altered. Fate cannot be changed. Time cannot be halted. The Way cannot be blocked. Once you attain the Way, everything is possible, but if you lose it, nothing is."
After about eight minutes, he took a deep breath, stood up to take his leave, and politely thanked Laozi for his instruction as usual.
Laozi did not try to detain him. He stood up, leaning on his cane, and escorted him all the way to the gate of the library. Just as Confucius was about to get into his carriage, Laozi said like a gramophone:
Confucius responded with "Yes, yes," got into the carriage, and leaned against the handrail with both hands clasped respectfully. Ran You whipped the air with his whip, shouted "Go!" and the carriage started moving. Only when the carriage had gone a dozen steps from the gate did Laozi return to his room.
"Master, you seem quite happy today," said Gengsang Chu, standing by with his hands hanging after Laozi had settled down. "You spoke a great deal..."
"You are right," replied Laozi with a slight sigh, seeming somewhat dejected. "I did speak too much." Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he added, "Oh, the wild goose Confucius gave me-wasn't it dried into preserved goose? Steam it and eat it. I have no teeth anyway, so I can't chew it."
Gengsang Chu went out. Laozi grew quiet again and closed his eyes. The library was very still. The only sound was the bamboo pole knocking against the eaves as Gengsang Chu fetched the preserved goose hanging under the eaves.
"Not at all," said Confucius modestly. "I haven't gone out. I've been thinking. I've come to understand something: crows and magpies kiss. Fish smear saliva. The slender-waisted wasp transforms others. When a younger brother is conceived, the elder brother cries. I myself have long not immersed myself in change, so how can I change others?"...
Confucius responded with "Yes, yes," got into the carriage, and leaned against the handrail with both hands clasped respectfully. Ran You whipped the air with his whip, shouted "Go!" and the carriage started moving. Only when the carriage had gone a dozen steps from the gate did Laozi return to his room.
"Master, you don't seem very happy today," said Gengsang Chu, standing by with his hands hanging after Laozi had settled down. "You spoke very little..."
"You have studied with me for so many years, yet you are still so naive," Laozi laughed. "This truly shows that nature cannot be altered, and fate cannot be changed. You must understand that Confucius is different from you: henceforth, he will not come again, nor will he call me teacher. He will only call me an old man and play tricks behind my back."
When Laozi reached Hangu Pass, instead of taking the main road leading straight to the pass, he reined in the green ox and turned onto a side path, slowly circling along the city wall. He wanted to climb the wall. The wall was not very high. By standing on the ox's back and giving a leap, he could barely scale it. But the green ox would be left inside the city, and there was no way to move it outside. To move it, a crane would be needed, but unfortunately, Lu Ban and Mo Di had not yet been born, and Laozi himself had never imagined such a thing. In short, he racked his philosophical brains, but found no solution.
However, he had not anticipated that when he turned into the side path, he had already been spotted by a scout, who immediately reported to the pass officer. So before he had gone seventy or eighty feet, a group of men on horseback came chasing from behind. The scout galloped ahead, followed by the pass officer, namely Guan Yinxi, accompanied by four policemen and two inspectors.
"Ah!" The pass officer rushed forward and, upon seeing Laozi's face, exclaimed in surprise. He immediately dismounted, bowed, and said, "I wondered who it was. So it's Director Lao Dan. This is truly unexpected."
Upon arriving at the pass, they immediately opened the main hall to receive him. This hall was the central room of the gate tower. Looking out the window, one could see a vast plain of yellow earth outside, sloping lower into the distance. The sky was pale blue, and the air was indeed fresh. The formidable pass towered on a steep slope, with earthen banks on both sides outside the gate and a carriage path in the middle, as if between cliffs. It could truly be sealed with just a clod of mud.
They all drank boiled water and ate steamed buns. After letting Laozi rest for a while, Guan Yinxi proposed that he give a lecture. Laozi knew this was unavoidable and agreed readily. Then, after some commotion, the room gradually filled with listeners. Besides the eight who had come with him, there were four policemen, two inspectors, five scouts, a clerk, an accountant, and a cook. Some had brought pens, knives, and wooden slips to take notes.
"The Way that can be spoken of is not the constant Way. The name that can be named is not the constant name. Nameless, it is the origin of heaven and earth. Named, it is the mother of all things..."
Laozi seemed not to notice, yet seemed to notice somewhat, for from then on he spoke in more detail. However, having no teeth, his pronunciation was unclear. He spoke with a Shaanxi accent mixed with Hunan tones, confusing 'li' and 'ne,' and loved to say 'er.' Still, no one could understand him. As time dragged on, those who came to listen suffered all the more.
For the sake of face, people had to endure, but eventually they inevitably slumped and leaned, each thinking their own thoughts. When he reached "The way of the sage is to act without contention" and stopped speaking, still no one moved. Laozi waited for a while, then added:
Only then did everyone awaken as from a deep dream. Though their legs were numb from sitting too long and they couldn't stand up immediately, they felt both surprise and joy, as if granted a great pardon.
Then Laozi was also taken to a side room and asked to rest. He drank a few sips of boiled water and sat perfectly still, like a block of wood.
Outside, people were still discussing animatedly. Before long, four representatives came in to see Laozi. Their main point was that he had spoken too quickly, and his Mandarin was not pure, so no one could take notes. It was a great pity to have no record, so they asked him to provide some written notes.
Laozi did not fully understand either, but seeing the other two place pens, knives, and wooden slips in front of him, he guessed they wanted him to compile notes. Knowing this was unavoidable, he agreed readily, but said it was too late today and he would start tomorrow.
The next morning, the weather was somewhat gloomy. Laozi felt uncomfortable in his heart, but he still had to compile the notes because he was eager to leave the pass, and to leave, he had to hand in the notes. He glanced at the pile of wooden slips before him and seemed to feel even more uncomfortable.
Yet he remained impassive, sat down quietly, and began to write. Recalling yesterday's words, he thought for a moment and wrote a sentence. At that time, eyeglasses had not yet been invented, and his presbyopic eyes were as narrow as a line, making it very laborious. Excluding the time spent drinking boiled water and eating steamed buns, he wrote for a full day and a half, producing only five thousand characters.
Guan Yinxi was very pleased, very grateful, and very regretful. He insisted on keeping him longer, but seeing he couldn't be detained, he put on a sorrowful expression and agreed. He ordered the policemen to saddle the green ox. Meanwhile, he personally selected a pack of salt, a pack of sesame, and fifteen steamed buns from the shelf, put them in a confiscated white cloth bag, and gave it to Laozi as provisions for the journey. He also stated that this was because he was an old writer, so he was treated very favorably. If he were young, he would only get ten steamed buns.
Laozi repeatedly expressed his thanks, accepted the bag, and descended the gate tower with the others. At the pass, he was about to lead the green ox on foot, but Guan Yinxi urged him to mount. After some polite refusal, he finally rode the ox. After bidding farewell, he turned the ox's head and slowly made his way along the steep road.
Before long, the ox quickened its pace. Everyone at the pass watched as he went. Two or three zhang away, they could still distinguish the white hair, yellow robe, green ox, and white bag. Then dust gradually rose, enveloping man and ox, turning everything gray. A moment later, there was only rolling yellow dust, and nothing could be seen.