The Three Principle Texts of Daoism translated by ... - Bad Request

The Animal TamerTHE KEEPER of Animals under King Hsüan, of theChou dynasty, had an assistant named Liang Yang, whowas skilled in the management of wild birds and beasts.When he fed them in their park-enclosure, all theanimals showed themselves tame and tractable, althoughthey comprised tigers, wolves, eagles and ospreys. Maleand female freely propagated their kind, and theirnumbers multiplied. [1] The different species livedpromiscuously together, yet they never clawed nor bitone another.The King was afraid lest this man's secret should diewith him, and commanded him to impart it to theKeeper. So Liang Yang appeared before the Keeper andsaid: “I am only a humble servant, and have reallynothing to impart. I fear his Majesty thinks I am hidingsomething from you. With regard to my method offeeding tigers, all I have to say is this: when yielded to,they are pleased; when opposed, they are angry. Such isthe natural disposition of all living creatures. But neithertheir pleasure nor their anger is manifested without acause. Both are really excited by opposition.Anger directly, pleasure indirectly, owing to the naturalreaction when the opposition is overcome.“In feeding tigers, then, I avoid giving them either liveanimals or whole carcases, lest in the former case the act