Guan Zhong was driving a chariot when King Huan Gong was hunting in a swamp and saw a spirit. The king touched Guan Zhong's hand and asked:
“Did you see anything, Father Zhong?”
“I, your servant, did not see anything,” answered Guan Zhong.
Upon returning, the king lost consciousness, fell ill and did not leave for several days.
Among the Qi men was Chuang Tzu, the Accuser of Pride, who said:
- How could a spirit harm the king? The king harmed himself! After all, the ether dissipates due to anger and does not return, which is why it is not enough. If, having risen, the ether does not descend, the person becomes hot-tempered; if, having fallen, does not rise, a person becomes forgetful; if, without rising or falling, it remains in the middle, in the heart, a person becomes ill.
- But do spirits exist then? - asked the king.
“There are,” answered Chuang Tzu. - There is a Straw Shoe at the lake, a High Hairstyle at the hearth, Thunder lives in a pile of rubbish in the yard, a Frog jumps in the lowland in the northeast on the river bank, a Brownie lives in the lowland in the northwest; there is Vodyanoy in the river; on the hills - a Multi-Colored Dog, in the mountains - a One-Legged, in the steppes - a Two-Headed Snake, in the swamps - a Writhing Snake.
— May I ask you what the Coiling Serpent looks like? - asked the king.
“The Twisting Serpent,” answered Chuang Tzu, “is as thick as a hub and as long as a shaft, dressed in a purple dress and a purple hat.” He is evil by nature. When he hears the roar of the chariot, he stands upright, covering his head. The one who sees him will become the king of kings.
“That’s what I saw, the only one,” said the king and laughed.
Here he straightened his clothes and hat and sat down next to Chuang Tzu. The day is not over yet, but the illness has passed unnoticed.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru