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CH. IV.
INTRODUCTION,
37
a matter of useless speculation to try to account for their never having come into argumentative collision.
Khien says: 'Kwang had made himself well acquainted with all the literature of his time, but preferred the views of Lâo-sze, and ranked himself among his followers, so that of the more than ten myriads of characters contained in his published writings the greater part are occupied with metaphorical illustrations of Lâo's doctrines. He made “The Old Fisherman," “ The Robber Kih,” and “The Cutting open Satchels,” to satirize and expose the disciples of Confucius, and clearly exhibit the sentiments of Lâo. Such names and characters as “ Wei-lêi Hsü" and "Khang-sang Zze” are fictitious, and the pieces where they occur are not to be understood as narratives of real events 1
* But Kwang was an admirable writer and skilful composer, and by his instances and truthful descriptions hit and exposed the Mohists and Literati. The ablest scholars of his day could not escape his satire nor reply to it, while he allowed and enjoyed himself with his sparkling, dashing style ; and thus it was that the greatest men, even kings and princes, could not use him for their purposes.
King Wei of Khû, having heard of the ability of Kwang Kâu, sent messengers with large gifts to bring him to his court, and promising also that he would make him his chief minister. Kwang-zze, however, only laughed and said to them, “ A thousand ounces of silver are a great gain to me, and to be a high noble and minister is a most honourable position. But have you not seen the victim-ox for the border sacrifice? It is carefully fed for several years, and robed with rich embroidery that it may be fit to enter the Grand Temple. When the time comes for it to do so, it would prefer to be a little pig, but it cannot get to be so. Go away quickly, and do not soil me with your presence.
1 Khang-sang Zze is evidently the Kăng-sang Khû of Kwang's Book XXIII. Wei-lêi Hsü is supposed by Sze-mâ Kang of the Thang dynasty, who called himself the Lesser Sze-ma, to be the name of a Book; one, in that case, of the lost books of K'wang. But as we find the 'Hill of Wei-lêi' mentioned in Bk. XXIII as the scene of Kăng-sang Khu's Taoistic labours and success; I suppose that Khien's reference is to that. The names are quoted by him from memory, or might be insisted on as instances of different readings.
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