Guiguzi 1

捭 闔 第 一
粵 若 稽 古 聖 人 之 在 天 地 間 也 為 眾 生 之 先 觀 陰 陽 之 開 闔 以 命 物 知 存 亡 之 門 戶 籌 策 萬 類 之 終 始 達 人 心 之 理 見 變 化 之 眹 焉 而 守 司 其 門 戶 故 聖 人 之 在 天 下 也 自 古 至 今 其 道 一 也 變 化 無 窮 各 有 所 歸 或 陰 或 陽 或 柔 或 剛 或 開 或 閉 或 弛 或 張 是 故 聖 人 一 守 司 其 門 戶 審 察 其 所 先 後 度 權 量 能 校 其 伎 巧 短 長 夫 賢 不 肖 智 愚 勇 怯 仁 義 有 差 乃 可 捭 乃 可 闔 乃 可 進 乃 可 退 乃 可 賤 乃 可 貴 無 為 以 牧 之 審 定 有 無 以 其 實 虛 隨 其 嗜 欲 以 見 其 志 意 微 排 其 所 言 而 捭 反 之 以 求 其 實 貴 得 其 指 闔 而 捭 之 以 求 其 利 或 開 而 示 之 或 闔 而 閉 之 開 而 示 之 者 同 其 情 也 闔 而 閉 之 者 異 其 誠 也 可 與 不 可 審 明 其 計 謀 以 原 其 同 異 離 合 有 守 先 從 其 志 即 欲 捭 之 貴 周 即 欲 闔 之 貴 密 周 密 之 貴 微 而 與 道 相 追 捭 之 者 料 其 情 也 闔 之 者 結 其 誠 也 皆 見 其 權 衡 輕 重 乃 為 之 度 數 聖 人 因 而 為 之 慮 其 不 中 權 衡 度 數 聖 人 因 而 自 為 之 慮 故 捭 者 或 捭 而 出 之 或 捭 而 納 之 闔 者 或 闔 而 取 之 或 闔 而 去 之 捭 闔 者 天 地 之 道 捭 闔 者 以 變 動 陰 陽 四 時 開 閉 以 化 萬 物 縱 橫 反 出 反 覆 反 忤 必 由 此 矣 捭 闔 者 道 之 大 化 說 之 變 也 必 豫 審 其 變 化 口 者 心 之 門 戶 也 心 者 神 之 主 也 志 意 喜 欲 思 慮 智 謀 此 皆 由 門 戶 出 入 故 關 之 捭 闔 制 之 以 出 入 捭 之 者 開 也 言 也 陽 也 闔 之 者 閉 也 默 也 陰 也 陰 陽 其 和 終 始 其 義 故 言 長 生 安 樂 富 貴 尊 榮 顯 名 愛 好 財 利 得 意 喜 欲 為 陽 曰 始 故 言 死 憂 患 貧 賤 苦 辱 棄 損 亡 利 失 意 有 害 刑 戮 誅 罰 為 陰 曰 終 諸 言 法 陽 之 類 者 皆 曰 始 言 善 以 始 其 事 諸 言 法 陰 之 類 皆 曰 終 言 惡 以 終 為 謀 捭 闔 之 道 以 陰 陽 試 之 故 與 陽 言 者 依 崇 高 與 陰 言 者 依 卑 小 以 下 求 小 以 高 求 大 由 此 言 之 無 所 不 出 無 所 不 入 無 所 不 言 可 可 以 說 人 可 以 說 家 可 以 說 國 可 以 說 天 下 為 小 無 內 為 大 無 外 益 損 去 就 倍 反 皆 以 陰 陽 御 其 事 陽 動 而 行 陰 止 而 藏 陽 動 而 出 陰 隨 而 入 陽 還 終 始 陰 極 反 陽 以 陽 動 者 德 相 生 也 以 陰 靜 者 形 相 成 也 以 陽 求 陰 苞 以 德 也 以 陰 結 陽 施 以 力 也 陰 陽 相 求 由 捭 闔 也 此 天 地 陰 陽 之 道 而 說 人 之 法 也 為 萬 事 之 先 是 謂 圓 方 之 門 戶

Open and Close

See how the sages of old stood between Heavens and Earth !
Standing before all creatures were born, they watched the cycle of Yin and Yang, and made judgements on things
Understanding the doors to life and death, they could predict the beginning and end of all ideas,
Knowing the ways of the human heart, they could discern in it the germ of any change,
While keeping watch at the door.
Thus were the sages, in the world.
Since antiquity, these principles are the same.
Changes never cease, and everything comes back
Then Yin, then Yang, then soft, then hard, then open, then close, then relaxed, then tense.
Therefore, the sage always keeps watch at their door.
He examines their origin and outcome, their length and weight, their capacity and ability.
He studies their talents, their weaknesses and their strength
Yet, wise and unwise, intelligent and stupid, brave and coward, all differ in benevolence and righteousness.
Therefore, the sage should open, or he should close, he should advance, or he should retreat, he should despise, or he should value.
He remains detached, in order to herd them
He decides what is and what it not, judging them from the facts
He follows their penchants and desires, by looking at their intents and ideas
He is not concerned about marking their words, but would turn them around, in order to find their reality
He wants to capture what they try to close, and open it, to find out their motivation
Sometimes he opens and shows them, sometimes he closes and blocks them
He opens and shows himself to those who share his feelings
He closes and blocks those whose nature is different from his.
From what they can or cannot do, he discerns their designs and plans, going to the source of they likeness and difference.
One keeps things separate or united, depending on his prior motives
Thus, he who wants to open will prefer exposure, he who wants to close will prefer secret
But favouring or dismissing exposure and secret are but two successive phases of the Way
Those who open, measure their feelings, those who close, unite their nature
For both their size and importance can be seen,
And evaluating them should be the worry of the sage
If they are not up to their measure and size, then the sage should be worried for himself
Therefore, those who open sometimes open to let him out, and sometimes open to let him in
Those who close sometimes close to take in, sometimes to keep out
Open and close is the Way of Heavens and Earth
Open and close is the succession of the seasons, through the change and motion of Yin and Yang,
Because it is the change in the ordering of all things, all that goes out, goes back, or resists does so because of it
Open and close is the great change in the Way, the transformation of discourse
One must examine these transformations in advance
The mouth is the door of the heart, and the heart is the ruler of the spirit
Intents and ideas, joys and desires, thoughts and worries, knowledge and plots,
All come and go through the door.
Thus, watching their opening and closing allows one to control what comes in and out
He who opens is at the beginning. Speech is Yang.
He who closes is at the end. Silence is Yin.
When Yin and Yang are in harmony, end and beginning make sense
Thus, when one speaks of long life, of peace and music, of riches and nobility, of respect and glory, of renown and fame, of love and like, of talents and profits, of doing what he pleases, of pleasures and desires, he is Yang and talks of the beginning
When one speaks of death, of worry, of suffering, of poverty and of lack, of harsh abuse and abandon, of loss and being rejected, of harsh laws and cruel penalties, he is Yin and speaks of the end.
All those who speak of ideas ruled by Yang are called “beginners”. They talk of goodness as the starting point of their work.
All those who speak of ideas ruled by Yin are called “enders”. They talk of evil to make their plot come to an end.
The principles of opening and closing are expressed in terms of Yin and Yang
Thus, when talking to someone who speaks Yang, one should rely on the venerable and lofty.
When talking to someone who speaks Yin, one should rely on the mean and small
At the bottom look for the small, at the top look for the great.
When speaking in this fashion, one can let anything out, or let anything in, one can talk about everything
He can talk of people, he can talk of houses, he can talk of kingdoms, he can talk of the world
What he deems small has no inside, what he deems large has no outside.
Increase and decrease, coming and going, leave and return, all are events directed by Yin and Yang
Yang moves forward, Yin stops and hides. Yang goes out, Yin follows in
When Yang has moved a full circle, Yin climaxes and returns to Yang
When one moves in Yang, his virtue is created, when one rests in Yin, his body gets perfected
From Yang look for Yin, is wrapping in one’s virture
From Yin coalesce into Yang, is revealing one’s strength
Yin andYang attract each other, thanks to opening and closing
This is the way of the Yin and Yang, in Heavens and Earth, and the art of the persuader
To stands before all events, this is called the door to round and square