A Dialectical Analysis of the Tripartite Qualities of 'Dao' in the Guanzi: Intricacy, Expansion, and Solidity
This paper provides an in-depth interpretation of the opening discourse on 'Dao' in the *Guanzi: Neiye*, analyzing the connotations and dialectical unity of its tripartite qualities: 'intricacy necessitates density, expansion necessitates ease, and solidity necessitates firmness.' It further explores their significance for self-cultivation and mental governance within the context of Pre-Qin and ancient thought.
IV. "They will naturally arrive." (彼将自至) — The Ultimate Realm of Natural Arrival
"Bi" (彼) refers to the Dao, all things, and everything pursued through cultivation. "Jiang zi zhi" (将自至) means will naturally arrive.
"They will naturally arrive" is the final conclusion of the entire passage and the ultimate destination of all its thought—you do not need to pursue them deliberately; simply achieve harmony between moderation and appropriateness, and the Dao will naturally come.
This echoes the earlier question, "Can you obtain it from yourself without seeking it from others$42"—do not seek externally, but obtain from within oneself; do not pursue deliberately, but let it arrive naturally.
Why does "moderation and appropriateness in harmony" lead the Dao to "naturally arrive"$43 Because the Dao is already everywhere—"The Dao exists between Heaven and Earth; its greatness has no outside, its smallness has no inside" (Guanzi, Xinshu Shang). The Dao is not something far away in the heavens but fills Heaven and Earth, present at all times. The reason people do not perceive the Dao is not because the Dao is absent but because of their own excesses—excessive desires, excessive pondering, excessive actions—which obscure the manifestation of the Dao. When these excesses are restrained to an appropriate degree, the obscurations are removed, and the Dao naturally manifests—this is "they will naturally arrive."
Laozi, Chapter Forty-Eight, states: "In learning, strive for more each day; in practicing the Dao, strive for less each day. Strive for less and less, until you arrive at non-action. Through non-action, nothing is left undone." Practicing the Dao means continuous reduction—reducing the excessive parts. Reducing to the extreme ("moderation and appropriateness in harmony") leads to a state of non-action. In non-action, the Dao naturally arrives—"Through non-action, nothing is left undone."