Liezi
- Language:
- Chinese
- Status:
- Complete work
- Authorship:
- Attributed (authorship debated)
- Extent:
- ~7,160 words · 34 passages
Cite this work
- APALiezi. (n.d.). 列子 [Liezi]. Digital reproduction: SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/liezi/chinese
- MLALiezi. 列子 [Liezi]. Digital reproduction, SigPhi, https://sigphiai.com/en/works/liezi/chinese.
- ChicagoLiezi. 列子 [Liezi]. Digital reproduction, SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/liezi/chinese.
Reference to the edition that SigPhi reproduces: SigPhi is its digital reproduction, not its publisher. The edition's year is not in the metadata (hence "n.d."), and the translator appears only when recorded.
What it is about
The Liezi in classical Chinese, complete: all eight chapters.
Context and history
The third Daoist classic, after the Dao De Jing and the Zhuangzi. It proceeds by stories and paradoxes — dream, fate, the uselessness of striving — and was compiled centuries after the historical Liezi, if he existed at all. Here it is complete and in the original Chinese, from Wikisource. It replaces Lionel Giles' English selection, which was partial and is still under copyright.
Editorial context, not a citable source: unlike the passages of the work itself, these statements cannot be checked against the corpus.
子列子居鄭圃,四十年人無識者。國君卿大夫眎之,猶衆庶也。國不足,將嫁於衛。弟子曰:「先生往無反期,弟子敢有所謁,先生將何以教?先生不聞壺丘子林之言乎?」子列子笑曰:「壺子何言哉?雖然,夫子嘗語伯昏瞀人。吾側聞之,試以告女。其言曰:有生不生,有化不化。不生者能生生,不化者能化化。生者不能不生,化者不能不化。故常生常化。常生常化者,無時不生,無時不化。陰陽爾,四時爾,不生者疑獨,不化者往復。往復,其際不可終;疑獨,其道不可窮。《黃帝書》曰:『谷神不死,是謂玄牝。玄牝之門,是謂天地之根。綿綿若存,用之不勤。』故生物者不生,化物者不化。自生自化,自形自色,自智自力,自消自息。謂之生化形色智力消息者,非也。」 子列子曰:「昔者聖人因陰陽以統天地。夫有形者生於無形,則天地安從生?故曰:有太易,有太初,有太始,有太素。太易者,未見氣也;太初者,氣之始也;太始者,形之始也;太素者,質之始也。氣形質具而未相離,故曰渾淪。渾淪者,言萬物相渾淪而未相離也。視之不見,聽之不聞,循之不得,故曰易也。易無形埒,易變而爲一,一變而爲七,七變而爲九。九變者,究也,乃復變而爲一。一者,形變之始也。清輕者上爲天,濁重者下爲地,沖和氣者爲人;故天地含精,萬物化生。」 子列子曰:「天地無全功,聖人無全能,萬物無全用。故天職生覆,地職形載,聖職教化,物職所宜。然則天有所短,地有所長,聖有所否,物有所通。何則?生覆者不能形載,形載者不能教化,教化者不能違所宜,宜定者不出所位。故天地之道,非陰則陽;聖人之教,非仁則義;萬物之宜,非柔則剛:此皆隨所宜而不能出所位者也。故有生者,有生生者;有形者,有形形者;有聲者,有聲聲者;有色者,有色色者;有味者,有味味者。生之所生者死矣,而生生者未嘗終;形之所形者實矣,而形形者未嘗有;聲之所聲者聞矣,而聲聲者未嘗發;色之所色者彰矣,而色色者未嘗顯;味之所味者嘗矣,而味味者未嘗呈:皆無爲之職也。能陰能陽,能柔能剛,能短能長,能員能方,能生能死,能暑能涼,能浮能沈,能宮能商,能出能沒,能玄能黃,能甘能苦,能羶能香。無知也,無能也,而無不知也,而無不能也。」 子列子適衛,食於道,從者見百歲髑髏,攓蓬而指,顧謂弟子百豐曰:「唯予與彼知而未嘗生未嘗死也。此過養乎?此過歡乎?種有幾:若䵷爲鶉,得水爲㡭,得水土之際,則爲䵷蠙之衣。生於陵屯,則爲陵舄。陵舄得鬱栖,則爲烏足。烏足之根爲蠐螬,其葉爲胡蝶。胡蝶胥也,化而爲蟲,生竈下,其狀若脫,其名曰𪀊掇。𪀊掇千日,化而爲鳥,其名曰乾餘骨。乾餘骨之沫爲斯彌。斯彌爲食醯頤輅。食醯頤輅生乎食醯黃軦,食醯黃軦生乎九猷。九猷生乎瞀芮,瞀芮生乎腐蠸。羊肝化爲地皋,馬血之爲轉鄰也,人血之爲野火也。鷂之爲鸇,鸇之爲布穀,布穀久復爲鷂也,鷰之爲蛤也,田鼠之爲鶉也,朽瓜之爲魚也,老韭之爲莧也,老羭之爲猨也,魚卵之爲蟲。亶爰之獸自孕而生曰類。河澤之鳥視而生曰鶂。純雌其名大𦝫,純雄其名稺蜂。思士不妻而感,思女不夫而孕。后稷生乎巨蹟,伊尹生乎空桑。厥昭生乎濕。醯雞生乎酒。羊奚比乎不筍。久竹生青寧,青寧生程,程生馬,馬生人。人久入於機。萬物皆出於機,皆入於機。」 《黃帝書》曰:「形動不生形而生影,聲動不生聲而生響,無動不生無而生有。」形,必終者也;天地終乎?與我偕終。終進乎?不知也。道終乎本無始,進乎本不久。有生則復於不生,有形則復於無形。不生者,非本不生者也;無形者,非本無形者也。生者,理之必終者也。終者不得不終,亦如生者之不得不生。而欲恆其生,畫其終,惑於數也。精神者,天之分;骨骸者,地之分。屬天清而散,屬地濁而聚。精神離形,各歸其真,故謂之鬼。鬼,歸也,歸其真宅。黃帝曰:「精神入其門,骨骸反其根,我尚何存?」 人自生至終,大化有四:嬰孩也,少壯也,老耄也,死亡也。其在嬰孩,氣專志一,和之至也;物不傷焉,德莫加焉。其在少壯,則血氣飄溢,欲慮充起;物所攻焉,德故衰焉。其在老耄,則欲慮柔焉;體將休焉,物莫先焉。雖未及嬰孩之全,方於少壯,間矣。其在死亡也,則之於息焉,反其極矣。 孔子遊於太山,見榮啓期行乎郕之野,鹿裘帶索,鼓琴而歌。孔子問曰:「先生所以樂,何也?」對曰:「吾樂甚多:天生萬物,唯人爲貴。而吾得爲人,是一樂也。男女之別,男尊女卑,故以男爲貴;吾既得爲男矣,是二樂也。人生有不見日月、不免襁褓者,吾既己行年九十矣,是三樂也。貧者士之常也,死者人之終也,處常得終,當何憂哉?」孔子曰:「善乎!能自寬者也。」 林類年且百歲,底春被裘,拾遺穗於故畦,並歌並進。孔子適衛,望之於野。顧謂弟子曰:「彼叟可與言者,試往訊之!」子貢請行。逆之壠端,面之而歎曰:「先生曾不悔乎,而行歌拾穗?…