Tales of the Taoist Immortals (6 page)

C
HEN
H
SI-YI
lived from the end of the T’ang dynasty (618–906
CE
), through the era of the Five Dynasties (907–960
CE
), and into the early part of the Sung (960–1279
CE
). He is acknowledged as the father of modern ch’i-kung and wrote important treatises on Taoist cosmology, divination, meditation, and calisthenics. He was the founding patriarch of the School of Taoism known as the Earlier Heaven Limitless Way.

10

Satirist of the High and Mighty

Chuang Tzu

Chuang Tzu was born Chuang Chou. He lived in the county of Mong in the kingdom of Ch’u and, for a brief period, held a minor post in the county government.

Although knowledgeable in the arts and sciences, Chuang Chou was not interested in pursuing a career as a statesman or a teacher. He did what he liked; ignored the social conventions of his time; and made fun of politicians, intellectuals, and businesspeople alike. No one, not even high-ranking officials, escaped Chou’s satirical eye and sharp tongue.

Once, a friend came to visit Chuang Chou and found him asleep and snoring in the middle of the day. The friend nudged him gently and said, “It’s well past noon. Everyone in town is out and about.”

Chou sat up and murmured, “I dreamed that I was a butterfly fluttering among the flowers. Was I a man dreaming that I was a butterfly? Or am I a butterfly now dreaming that I am a man?”

The friend shook his head and went away.

Another time, the king of Ch’u, who admired Chuang Chou’s learning, sent a messenger to ask Chou to be his adviser. When the messenger arrived at Chou’s home with gifts of gold and cloth, Chou already knew what was in the king’s mind. He said to the emissary, “I’ve heard that a giant tortoise that had died three thousand years ago has been decorated with jewels and is being displayed in a shrine. If you were the tortoise, would you rather be dead and decked out in jewels or wag your tail and wallow in the mud?”

Without hesitation, the messenger replied, “Of course, I would rather wag my tail and wallow in the mud.”

Chuang Chou then said, “Tell the king that I too would prefer to wag my tail and roll around in the mud.”

The king sent a second messenger to persuade Chuang Chou to serve him, but before the emissary could manage a word of greeting, Chou took him by the sleeve and led him to the king’s stockyards. Inside a pen was a prize ox being fed with hay and grain of the highest quality. Pointing to the animal, Chuang Chou said to the king’s messenger, “Look at this ox. He’s being given the best foods, but he doesn’t know that he’ll be sacrificed at the autumn festival. When the butcher comes, he’ll beg for the chance to pull a farmer’s plough.”

When the king learned of Chuang Chou’s remarks, he said, “This man values his personal freedom more than anything else. I will not bother him again.”

C
HUANG
T
ZU
lived during the latter part of the Chou dynasty (1122–221
BCE
) in the feudal state of Ch’u. He is reputed to be the primary author of the Taoist classic
Chuang Tzu
.

11

The Minister and the Courtesan

Fan Li and Hsi Shih

Fan Li was the chief adviser to Yu Chien, the lord of the kingdom of Yüeh. Yu Chien was a proud and willful ruler. Against his better judgment and his ministers’ advice, he challenged the lord of Wu in battle and lost. Chien was taken prisoner and his kingdom made into a vassal state.

Fu Ts’o, the lord of the kingdom of Wu, was a cold and calculating man who distrusted even his closest advisers. Ts’o had inherited a strong and prosperous kingdom from
his father and had begun a campaign of conquest as soon as he ascended the throne. Foremost in his mind had been to incorporate the rich and fertile lands of Yüeh into his kingdom.

Now that he had conquered Yüeh, Fu Ts’o wanted its lord to become a willing vassal. First, he put Yu Chien in a guarded but comfortable house. Then, he gave Chien servants and female companions, hoping that with time, Yu Chien would voluntarily give up his kingdom and stay in Wu. Indeed, if not for Fan Li, Chien would have become a permanent “guest” under Fu Ts’o’s watchful eye.

When Yu Chien was taken to Wu as a hostage, Fan Li voluntarily followed his lord into captivity. Fu Ts’o could hardly hide his delight at this choice. Fan Li was the most able of Chien’s ministers; it would be better to have him in Wu where he could be watched, than back in Yüeh plotting to free his master.

After several months of being treated as an honored guest, Yu Chien forgot the humiliation of defeat and capture and began to entertain the prospect of becoming a citizen of Wu. When Fan Li saw this, he said to his lord, “Your duty is to return to your homeland and free your kingdom, not to sink into revelry and betray your people.”

From that time on, lord and minister began to plot their return to Yüeh. First, Yu Chien kept up the appearance of delighting in fine foods, wine, and beautiful women. During the day, he drank and sang and cavorted with the courtesans. At night, however, he lay on a bed of straw and sipped a bitter liquid from a gourd to remind himself of the bitterness of captivity and the loss of his homeland.

While Yu Chien pretended to fall into the king of Wu’s trap, Fan Li began to gather information about Ts’o’s habits, and soon discovered that he had a weakness for women.
Fan Li’s chance to use this knowledge came when Fu Ts’o ordered the vassal state of Yüeh to send him its most beautiful women as tribute. Fan Li got himself appointed as the recruiter of courtesans, arguing that as a native of Yüeh and a former minister, he knew where to find the best candidates.

Fan Li returned to Yüeh and set up a recruiting station in the capital. One day, a beautiful and stately woman walked into the tent. Surprised that a woman with such dignity would volunteer to become a courtesan, he asked for her name and said, “Why do you wish to serve a tyrant who has enslaved our country?”

“My name is Hsi Shih,” the woman replied, “and I serve only the lord of Yüeh.” When Hsi Shih explained that by being a courtesan, she could perhaps help Yu Chien return to his kingdom, Fan Li said, “I have finally met a kindred spirit in whom I can confide.” Hsi Shih and Fan Li talked long into the night and came up with a plan to rescue Yu Chien and defeat Fu Ts’o.

Fan Li took Hsi Shih to Wu and presented her to Fu T’so along with the other courtesans. The king was so taken with Hsi Shih’s beauty and intelligence that he made her his principal courtesan at their first meeting.

After Hsi Shih’s arrival at the Wu court, Fu Ts’o began to spend more time with her and less time on the affairs of his kingdom. Hsi Shih played on his suspicious nature by spreading rumors about his ministers plotting to overthrow him. As a result of this, several of Wu’s most able generals and ministers were executed for treason. She also persuaded Ts’o to tell her the locations of Wu’s garrisons, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each commander. Yu Chien and Fan Li soon had all the information they needed to defeat the kingdom of Wu.

One last task was left for Hsi Shih, and this was to persuade Fu Ts’o to let Yu Chien return to Yüeh. One day, when Ts’o was in a particularly receptive mood, Hsi Shih casually commented, “Yu Chien has become a womanizer and a drunk. He won’t be a threat to your kingdom anymore. Why don’t you send him home and save yourself the expense of keeping him here?” Fu Ts’o agreed and, against the advice of his ministers, released Yu Chien.

Once Yu Chien returned to his kingdom, he and Fan Li prepared to invade Wu. With the information provided by Hsi Shih, Yu Chien’s defeat of Wu was sure and swift.

After conquering Fu Ts’o, Yu Chien called his advisers together and rewarded them with rich gifts. To Fan Li, he said, “I am especially grateful to you and Hsi Shih. I want you to be my chief minister. You and Hsi Shih can have all the land and gold you’ll ever want.”

Fan Li declined the offer politely and said, “Our most dangerous enemy has been removed; the country is prosperous; and you are a wise king. You will be a good ruler with or without me. Besides, Hsi Shih and I have always wanted to visit the famous mountains and rivers of the south.”

Yu Chien was flattered by Fan Li’s remarks. “You have my permission to leave,” he said. “However, if I need you, I’ll summon you back to the capital.”

That night, Fan Li and Hsi Shih gathered their belongings into a boat and sailed south.

“Why did you decline the king’s offer?” Hsi Shih asked Fan Li.

He replied, “Yu Chien the victorious conqueror is not the same man as Yu Chien the prisoner. Chien will befriend you when he needs your help. However, once he has attained his objective, he’ll consider you a threat. He may be
generous now, but in a few years there will be a purge. I’d rather leave freely than be forced to flee as a fugitive.”

Fan Li and Hsi Shih hid their identities and traveled throughout southern China before they settled in a small town along the coast. There, Fan Li became a successful businessman, and although the couple accumulated a large fortune, they never displayed their wealth and never talked about their past. Not even their closest friends knew that Hsi Shih and Fan Li were the masterminds behind Yüeh’s conquest of Wu.