Chapter 1: An Examination of the Chapter Title Geng Sang Chu

Section 1: The Person of Geng Sang Chu

"Geng Sang Chu" (庚桑楚), also rendered as "Kang Sangzi" (亢桑子) or "Kang Cangzi" (亢仓子), has variant forms in pre-Qin literature regarding characters and pronunciation. The opening of this chapter in Zhuangzi states:

"Among Lao Dan’s disciples, there was one named Geng Sang Chu, who partially grasped the Dao of Lao Dan and settled to the North near Mount Weilei."

This indicates that Geng Sang Chu was a disciple of Lao Dan who "partially grasped" (Piān Dé, 偏得) his master's Dao. What does "partially grasp" mean$1 It does not mean what he grasped was incomplete, but rather that he experienced a unique enlightenment regarding the Dao of Lao Dan, grasping one corner yet being able to penetrate the whole. This is like what Laozi says in Chapter 41:

"The superior scholar hears the Dao and diligently practices it; the middle scholar hears the Dao and seems to have it, seems not to have it; the inferior scholar hears the Dao and laughs at it. If he does not laugh, it is not worth having the Dao."

Geng Sang Chu’s reception of Lao Dan’s teaching was that of the "superior scholar, diligently practicing it." His "partial grasp" was a grasp of sincerity and essence, not one of partiality or stagnation. This is similar to how Zhuangzi, in the chapter Tianxia (天下), summarizes Zhuang Zhou’s learning:

"Vague and without form, changing without constancy, death or life$2 Heaven and Earth together$3 Spirit and illumination gone$4 Where did they go$5 Where are they headed$6 All things are caught in the net, with nothing to settle upon. In antiquity, there was a Way and Technique existing in this state; Zhuang Zhou heard its sound and delighted in it."

Geng Sang Chu was similar: he heard the sound of Lao Dan and delighted in it, grasping its essence and abiding in it.

Section 2: "Settled to the North near Mount Weilei"

Geng Sang Chu settled North near Mount Weilei. "Weilei" (畏垒) is a mountain name. "Settled North" (Běi Jū, 以北居) means residing toward the North. In pre-Qin cosmology, the North corresponds to Yin, Water, and profound darkness (Xuan Ming). The I Ching, in the Gua Zhuan (彖传):

"Kan Water is water, the trigram of the true North, the trigram of toil, the place where all things return."

The North is the direction to which all things return, aligning perfectly with Geng Sang Chu’s aspiration to return to the root and conform to the Heavenly Dao. Furthermore, Laozi Chapter 16 states:

"Attain the utmost void, maintain the deepest stillness. The ten thousand things arise; I observe their return. Though things are multitudinous, each returns to its root. Returning to the root is called stillness; stillness is called returning to destiny. Returning to destiny is called constancy; knowing constancy is called illumination."

Geng Sang Chu’s northern dwelling symbolizes this "returning to the root" and "returning to destiny." By choosing Mount Weilei, far from the turmoil of human affairs, he sought to achieve the illumination of the Heavenly Dao through the practice of emptiness and stillness. This resonates profoundly with the subsequent teaching: "When the Universe is Perfectly Settled, It Gives Rise to Heavenly Light."

Section 3: Geng Sang Chu’s Instruction of His Disciples

After settling on Mount Weilei, Geng Sang Chu dismissed the "knowledgeable" and the "benevolent" among his attendants:

"Those among his retainers who were sharply knowledgeable departed, those among his maids who were keenly benevolent withdrew."

This action carries deep significance. Why did Geng Sang Chu expel the "knowledgeable" and the "benevolent"$7 This aligns precisely with the core tenets of Zhuangzi’s philosophy. Zhuangzi, in Qi Wu Lun (Discussion on Making Things Equal):

"Great knowledge is broad and open; small knowledge is cramped and narrow. Great words are blazing; small words are merely prattling."

And in Quie Qie (Burglary):

"Therefore, cast aside sagehood and discard knowledge, and great bandits will cease; pry open jade and smash pearls, and petty thieves will not arise; burn tallies and shatter seals, and the people will return to simplicity; break measures and bend balances, and the people will cease to contend."

This aligns with Laozi Chapter 19:

"Cast aside sagehood and discard knowledge; the people will benefit a hundredfold. Cast aside benevolence and discard righteousness; the people will return to filial piety and compassion. Cast aside cleverness and discard profit; thieves and robbers will cease to exist."

Geng Sang Chu’s dismissal of the "knowledgeable" and "benevolent" was the practice of Lao Dan’s teaching to "discard sagehood and discard knowledge" and "discard benevolence and discard righteousness." Only by doing so could his dwelling return to primordial simplicity and his disciples’ minds return to emptiness and stillness. This lays the practical foundation for the later discourse on "When the Universe is Perfectly Settled, It Gives Rise to Heavenly Light."