Mair 14:6

[Marblehead]

When Confucius met Old Longears, he told him about humaneness and righteousness.

"In winnowing," said Old Longears, "the chaff can get in your eyes and blind you so that heaven, earth, and the four directions will all change their places.  If mosquitoes and snipeflies pierce your skin, you won't be able to sleep the whole night long.  But there is no greater confusion than that caused by humaneness and righteousness which maliciously muddle one's mind.  If, sir, you were to cause all under heaven not to lose the simplicity of the unhewn log, you too could move with the abandon of the wind and stand forth in the wholeness of integrity.  Instead, why must you overexert yourself as though you were carrying a bass drum and looking for a lost son?  The swan does not bathe every day, yet it is white; the crow does not smudge itself every day, yet it is black.  The natural simplicity of black and white is not worth disputing over; the spectacle of fame and praise is not worth bragging about."

Confucius did not speak for three days after returning from this meeting with Old Longears.  "When you met Old Longears, oh master;" asked his disciples, "how did you admonish him, as you surely must have?"

"Now, in him I have finally seen a dragon!" said Confucius.  "Coiled up, his body is complete; extended, his scaly patterns are whole.  He rides on the cloudy vapors and is nourished by yin and yang.  My mouth fell open and I couldn't close it; my tongue arched upward so I couldn't even utter a halting word.  How could I have admonished Old Longears?"

"So," asked Tzukung, "then can this man really remain still as a corpse with a dragonish presence, silent in the depths with a thunderous voice, setting forth in movement like heaven and earth?  May I also have the opportunity to observe him?"  Whereupon he went to see Old Longears with an introduction from Confucius.

Old Longears was just on the verge of squatting reposefully in his hall when he received Tzukung.  "I'm getting on in years," he said softly.  "What are you going to caution me about?"

"The government of all under heaven by the three august sovereigns and the five emperors was dissimilar," said Tzukung, "but the fame that accrued to them was the same.  How is it that you alone consider them not to have been sages?"

"Come forward a little, young man;" said Old Longears.  "Why do you say that their government was dissimilar?"

"Yao passed the throne to Shun, and Shun passed it to Yii," was the answer.  "Yii relied on his strength and T'ang {{The founder of the Shang dynasty, the first Chinese dynasty that has been both historically and archeologically verified.  The dynasty was established in roughly 1766 B.C.E., although details from the first part of the dynasty are still lacking.}} on his troops.  King Wen {{The King of Chou before it defeated the Shang and took over the empire.  The King Wen of Chapter 30 who is so enamored of swordfighting was the king of a small state during the Warring States period.}} went along with the tyrant Chow and dared not go against him.  King Wu went against Chow and dared not go along with him.  That's why I said they were dissimilar."

"Come forward a little bit more, young man," said Old Longears.  "I will tell you about the government of all under heaven by the three august sovereigns and the five emperors.  When the Yellow Emperor governed all under heaven, he made the people of one mind.  If someone's parent died and he did not weep, no one would blame him.  When Yao governed all under heaven, he made the minds of the people biased.  If someone disregarded the norm in the mourning garments he wore for his own parent, no one would blame him.  When Shun governed all under heaven, he made the minds of the people competitive.  Pregnant women still gave birth after ten months, but their children could talk five months after they were born, and they began to recognize people before they were toddlers.  Consequently, people began to die prematurely.  When Yii governed all under heaven, he made the minds of the people deviant.  Men began to scheme and routinely resorted to force of arms.  Claiming that they were killing robbers, not people, they considered themselves a breed apart, as did all under heaven.  Hence, all under heaven were in a great panic, and the Confucians and the Mohists arose.  It was because of their doing that there first came to be morality, but what can you say of the way things have ended up now?

"I tell you, we may speak of the three august sovereigns 'governing' all under heaven, but it is governing in name only, for there is no greater disorder than that which they caused.  The knowledge of the three august sovereigns rebelled against the brightness of the sun and moon, conflicted with the essence of the mountains and rivers below, and disrupted the procession of the four seasons in between.  Their knowledge was more fatal than the sting of a scorpion or the bite of a pit viper.  Insecure in the reality of their nature and destiny, they still considered themselves sages.  Is this not shameful?"

Tzukung stood there disconcerted and ill at ease.

[Taoist Texts]

3 hours ago, Marblehead said:

"Come forward a little bit more, young man," said Old Longears.  "I will tell .....  Hence, all under heaven were in a great panic, and the Confucians ...arose. 

He just met with Confucius yesterday, how come there were already Confucians before that

[Marblehead]

6 hours ago, Taoist Texts said:

He just met with Confucius yesterday, how come there were already Confucians before that

Don't take that literally.  It never happened in real life.

 

But there were Confucians during Chuang Tzu's life time.