batch.motif.daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg-l12151-l12292
---
record_id: batch.motif.daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg-l12151-l12292
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER XXVII. / LANGUAGE. / CHAPTER XXVIII. / ON DECLINING POWER.; lines
12151-12292
start: '12151'
end: '12292'
translation: 'Chuang Tzu: Mystic, Moralist, and Social Reformer'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A sequence of anecdotes presents rulers or princes offering, seeking, or
struggling over rule, while sages, recluses, or advisers decline power or argue
that life, bodily integrity, and simple sufficiency are worth more than empire,
territory, office, or gain.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Yao offers to resign the empire to Hsü Yu and then to Tzŭ Chou Chih Fu; Tzŭ
Chou Chih Fu declines because he is treating an illness and has no leisure for
the empire.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The narrator states that the empire is important, but Tzŭ Chou Chih Fu would
not let it injure his chance of life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Shun offers the empire to Tzŭ Chou Chih Poh, who likewise declines because
he is treating a troublesome disease.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Shan Chüan describes himself as living by seasonal labor, with fur clothing
in winter, grass-cloth in summer, ploughing in spring, harvesting in autumn, and
daily work from dawn to sunset.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Shan Chüan declines the empire and later hides among the mountains where nobody
knows his location.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: A labourer of Shih Hu tells Shun that he exerts himself too much and should
husband his strength; the labourer then departs with his wife, household gods,
and children to the sea and does not return.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: T'ai Wang Shan Fu is attacked by savages who refuse skins, silk, dogs, horses,
pearls, and jade, because they want the territory.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: T'ai Wang Shan Fu leaves with his staff rather than cause killing over territory;
his people follow him and found a new state at the foot of Mount Ch'i.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Shou, son of the last prince of Yüeh, flees after three successive princes
have been killed; he is found, smoked out with moxa, and brought to a royal carriage.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Tzŭ Hua Tzŭ uses an analogy about cutting off one hand to gain empire, arguing
that arms and body are worth more than empire and the contested territory.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Yen Ho is said to have attained TAO, lives in a hovel, wears coarse grass
clothing, and tends oxen when messengers with presents arrive from the prince
of Lu.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Yao
description: A ruler who offers to resign the empire.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Hsü Yu
description: A person to whom Yao offers the empire; the passage states that he
declines.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Tzŭ Chou Chih Fu
description: A person offered the empire by Yao who declines because he is treating
a troublesome disease.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Shun
description: A ruler who offers the empire to several persons.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Tzŭ Chou Chih Poh
description: A person offered the empire by Shun who declines because he is treating
a troublesome disease.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Shan Chüan
description: A person offered the empire by Shun who describes a simple agrarian
life, declines rule, and hides among the mountains.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Labourer of Shih Hu
description: A friend of Shun, identified as a labourer, who advises husbanding
strength and leaves with his family to the sea.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: T'ai Wang Shan Fu
description: A ruler occupying Pin who is attacked, refuses to let territory cause
killing, leaves with his staff, and founds a new state with his followers.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Savages attacking Pin
description: Attackers who refuse goods and demand territory.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Shou
description: Son of the last prince of Yüeh who flees rulership, is found and compelled
toward rule, and protests the burden of ruling.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: People of Yüeh
description: People whose state lacks a ruler and who seek Shou after three successive
princes have been killed.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Tzŭ Hua Tzŭ
description: Adviser who counsels prince Chao Hsi by comparing bodily integrity
with empire and territory.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Prince Chao Hsi
description: A downcast prince involved in struggle between Han and Wei over territory
who accepts Tzŭ Hua Tzŭ's counsel.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Yen Ho
description: A person said to have attained TAO; he lives in a hovel, wears coarse
grass clothing, and tends oxen.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Messengers from the prince of Lu
description: Messengers sent with presents to open communication with Yen Ho.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: ruler offering abdication
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:4
basis: Yao and Shun are described as offering to resign or offer the empire to others.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: decliner of empire or office
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: These figures decline, avoid, or depart from the offered burden of empire
or service.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: life-preserving figure
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:8
basis: The passage explicitly frames refusal or withdrawal as not sacrificing life
or not letting what nourishes life injure life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: humble or withdrawn Tao-aligned person
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:14
basis: Shan Chüan lives simply and withdraws; Yen Ho is said to have attained TAO
while living humbly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
- id: role:5
label: adviser on preserving strength or body
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:12
basis: The labourer advises husbanding strength, and Tzŭ Hua Tzŭ argues that body
and arms are worth more than empire or territory.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: founder after withdrawal
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: After leaving Pin, T'ai Wang Shan Fu's followers accompany him and found
a new state at Mount Ch'i.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: territory-seeking attackers
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The attackers reject goods and demand territory.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: reluctant ruler sought for office
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Shou flees, is sought out, smoked out, and brought to a royal carriage while
objecting to the burden of ruling.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: people seeking ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The people of Yüeh locate Shou and want him because he will not sacrifice
life to the state.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:10
label: anxious ruler in territorial conflict
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: Prince Chao Hsi is downcast during the Han-Wei struggle over territory and
fears not getting what is contested.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:11
label: official emissaries bearing gifts
assigned_to:
- fig:15
basis: Messengers are dispatched with presents to open communications with Yen Ho.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: empire
literal_form: The empire offered, declined, or compared against bodily life.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:12
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: troublesome disease
literal_form: Illness being treated by Tzŭ Chou Chih Fu and Tzŭ Chou Chih Poh.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: seasonal clothing and labor
literal_form: Fur clothes in winter, grass-cloth in summer, ploughing and sowing
in spring, harvest in autumn.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: mountains
literal_form: The mountains where Shan Chüan hides, and Mount Ch'i where a new state
is founded.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: sea
literal_form: The sea to which the labourer and his family depart and from which
they do not return.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: territory
literal_form: Land demanded by attackers at Pin and contested between Han and Wei.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: staff
literal_form: The staff T'ai Wang Shan Fu takes when he leaves.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:8
label: royal carriage and chariot cord
literal_form: The royal carriage prepared for Shou and the cord he seizes to mount
it.
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:9
label: hands, arms, and body
literal_form: The left hand, right hand, arms, and body used in Tzŭ Hua Tzŭ's analogy.
associated_figures:
- fig:12
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:10
label: hovel, grass clothing, and oxen
literal_form: Yen Ho's hovel, coarse grass clothes, and ox-tending work.
associated_figures:
- fig:14
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Yao's offer and refusal through illness
summary: Yao offers the empire; Tzŭ Chou Chih Fu declines because he is curing a
disease, and the narration values life over empire.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Shun's offer to Tzŭ Chou Chih Poh
summary: Shun offers the empire to Tzŭ Chou Chih Poh, who declines for the same
reason of treating disease; the narration contrasts the man of TAO with the worldly
person.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Shan Chüan's simple life and mountain withdrawal
summary: Shun offers the empire to Shan Chüan, who describes a contented seasonal
life, refuses rule, and later disappears into the mountains.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Labourer departs to the sea
summary: A labourer tells Shun he strains himself too much, then leaves with his
wife, household gods, and children to the sea and never returns.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: T'ai Wang Shan Fu yields territory and founds anew
summary: After attackers demand territory rather than goods, T'ai Wang Shan Fu refuses
to cause killing over land, leaves with his staff, and his followers found a new
state at Mount Ch'i.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Shou compelled toward rulership
summary: After killings of Yüeh princes, Shou flees, is found at Tan Hsüeh, smoked
out, and brought to a royal carriage while lamenting the burden of ruling.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:7
label: Tzŭ Hua Tzŭ's bodily analogy
summary: During a territorial struggle, Tzŭ Hua Tzŭ persuades prince Chao Hsi that
arms and body are worth more than empire or the contested land.
figure_refs:
- fig:12
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:6
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:8
label: Messengers find Yen Ho in poverty
summary: The prince of Lu sends messengers with gifts to Yen Ho, who lives in a
hovel, wears coarse grass clothing, and tends oxen.
figure_refs:
- fig:14
- fig:15
symbol_refs:
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: refusal of sovereignty to preserve life
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Several figures decline the empire, flee rulership, or reject territory because
office and power are presented as dangers to life or bodily well-being.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is philosophical anecdote rather than a single continuous
mythic narrative.
- id: motif:2
label: wisdom that the body is worth more than power
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Narration and counsel repeatedly rank life, body, arms, and strength above
empire, state, territory, or gain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage presents ethical-philosophical
instruction rather than a named wisdom tale type.
- id: motif:3
label: withdrawal from political danger into remote places
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Shan Chüan hides among the mountains, the labourer leaves for the sea, and
Shou flees to Tan Hsüeh to avoid rulership.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The departures have different immediate causes and are not elaborated
as a single journey pattern.
- id: motif:4
label: renunciation of contested land to avoid bloodshed
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: T'ai Wang Shan Fu yields territory and departs rather than allow a nourishing
resource to become injurious to life through killing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This motif is supported by one anecdote within the passage.
- id: motif:5
label: humble sage discovered by officials
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Yen Ho, said to have attained TAO, is found living in poverty and tending
oxen when official messengers with presents arrive.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage ends before the anecdote develops further, limiting interpretation.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 12151-12166
quote_or_summary: Yao offers the empire to Hsü Yu and then Tzŭ Chou Chih Fu; Tzŭ
Chou Chih Fu declines while treating illness, and the narrator says he would not
let empire injure his chance of life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 12174-12183
quote_or_summary: Shun offers the empire to Tzŭ Chou Chih Poh, who declines because
of illness; the narration says the man of TAO does not sacrifice life for the
empire.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 12187-12201
quote_or_summary: Shan Chüan describes simple seasonal work, declines the empire,
and later hides among the mountains.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 12205-12213
quote_or_summary: A labourer of Shih Hu tells Shun to husband his strength, then
leaves with wife, household gods, and children to the sea and never returns.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 12217-12243
quote_or_summary: T'ai Wang Shan Fu is attacked; the attackers reject goods and
demand territory. He departs with his staff to avoid killing, and his followers
found a new state at Mount Ch'i.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 12251-12268
quote_or_summary: After three Yüeh princes are killed, Shou flees; he is found,
smoked out with moxa, brought to a royal carriage, and objects to the dangers
of rulership.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 12272-12291
quote_or_summary: Tzŭ Hua Tzŭ counsels prince Chao Hsi during a Han-Wei territorial
struggle, arguing through a hand-and-body analogy that bodily integrity exceeds
empire or contested land in value.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 12292 onward within supplied passage
quote_or_summary: The prince of Lu sends messengers with gifts to Yen Ho, said to
have attained TAO; Yen Ho lives in a hovel, wears coarse grass clothes, and tends
oxen.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif candidates are clear
at the passage level but should be reviewed because the chapter is marked spurious
and the final Yen Ho anecdote is truncated.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
No external comparisons were added. Available taxonomy references were used only where directly supported by the supplied text.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg__l12151-l12292
passage_sha256=87b14618fd1d6f25f163862b9c76625ffcdf4a3dfd604c9234c62ed6fb3cef18