batch.motif.daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg-l12294-l12421
---
record_id: batch.motif.daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg-l12294-l12421
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
12294-12421
start: '12294'
end: '12421'
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 figures who decline gifts, food, reward,
office, or social display. Yen Ho disappears after official messengers bring presents.
A reflection contrasts self-culture with political power and compares worldly
ambition to using a priceless pearl to shoot a distant bird. Lieh Tzŭ refuses
food sent by Tzŭ Yang because it depends on hearsay. The butcher Yüeh refuses
rewards and office after following Prince Chao into exile. Yüan Hsien lives in
poverty but rejects Tzŭ Kung's implication that something is wrong with him.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Messengers bring presents to Yen Ho's house; Yen Ho tells them to verify their
errand, and when they return he cannot be found.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The narrator states that men like Yen Ho hate wealth and power.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage says the best part of Tao is for self-culture, while governing
a state and empire are lesser applications.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage uses the example of the prince of Sui's pearl being used to shoot
a bird, and explains that this sacrifices the greater to get the less.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Lieh Tzŭ is described as poor and hungry-looking, and a visitor reports this
to Tzŭ Yang of Chêng.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Tzŭ Yang orders that Lieh Tzŭ be supplied with food, but Lieh Tzŭ bows twice
and declines it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Lieh Tzŭ explains that he refused because the gift was based on others' reports,
and the same official might act on hostile reports.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: Prince Chao loses his kingdom and is followed into exile by his butcher, Yüeh.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: After Prince Chao's restoration, Yüeh refuses reward, audience, and higher
office, asking to return to his butchery.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: Yüan Hsien lives in a leaking mud hut with poor fittings but sits gravely
playing a guitar.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Tzŭ Kung arrives in a fine chariot and costly clothing, contrasting with Yüan
Hsien's poor clothing and support on a stalk.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:12
text: Yüan Hsien says he is merely poor and does not have something wrong with him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Yen Ho
description: A man at whose house messengers bring presents; he avoids receiving
them and is said to hate wealth and power.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Messengers
description: Unspecified messengers who bring presents to Yen Ho and return to verify
the errand.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Lieh Tzŭ
description: A poor scholar who has attained Tao and refuses food sent by Tzŭ Yang.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Tzŭ Yang
description: Prime Minister of Chêng who sends food to Lieh Tzŭ and is later slain
during trouble among the people of Chêng.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Visitor
description: An unnamed visitor who tells Tzŭ Yang that Lieh Tzŭ is poor despite
being a scholar who has attained Tao.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Lieh Tzŭ's wife
description: She complains that Lieh Tzŭ refused food while the family is hungry.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Prince Chao
description: Prince of the Ch'u State who loses and regains his kingdom, then attempts
to reward Yüeh.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Yüeh
description: A butcher who follows Prince Chao into exile and later refuses reward,
audience, and high office.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Tzŭ Chi
description: Prince Chao's master of the horse, sent to make Yüeh a San Ching.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Yüan Hsien
description: A poor man dwelling in a mud hut who plays the guitar and answers Tzŭ
Kung that poverty is not moral failure.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Tzŭ Kung
description: A finely dressed visitor arriving in a fine chariot who questions Yüan
Hsien about his condition.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: refuser of wealth, reward, or status
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:8
- fig:10
basis: These figures avoid presents, food, reward, higher office, or social advancement.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: official intermediary
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:9
basis: Messengers and Tzŭ Chi act as agents carrying offers from higher authorities.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: poor practitioner or exemplar
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:10
basis: Lieh Tzŭ is poor and hungry-looking; Yüan Hsien lives in a poor hut and distinguishes
poverty from incapacity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: political patron
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:7
basis: Tzŭ Yang sends food to Lieh Tzŭ; Prince Chao attempts to reward and promote
Yüeh.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: questioning observer
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:11
basis: The visitor reports Lieh Tzŭ's poverty to Tzŭ Yang; Tzŭ Kung questions Yüan
Hsien's condition.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: domestic critic
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Lieh Tzŭ's wife criticizes his refusal of food while she is hungry.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: humble loyal follower
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Yüeh is a butcher who follows Prince Chao into exile but refuses to claim
merit for restoration.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: official presents
literal_form: Presents brought by messengers to Yen Ho's house.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: prince of Sui's pearl
literal_form: A brilliant gem used in an analogy about shooting a distant bird.
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: food from Tzŭ Yang
literal_form: Food ordered for Lieh Tzŭ by the Prime Minister of Chêng.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: butchery
literal_form: Yüeh's butchery, described as his recovered office and salary.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: San Ching office
literal_form: A more honorable and better-paid post offered to Yüeh.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: mud hut
literal_form: Yüan Hsien's leaking mud hut with grass-grown roof, small windows,
and poor door fittings.
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: fine chariot and robe
literal_form: Tzŭ Kung's fine chariot and white robe lined with purple.
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:8
label: guitar
literal_form: The guitar Yüan Hsien plays while sitting gravely in his hut.
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Yen Ho avoids official presents
summary: Messengers bring presents to Yen Ho, he sends them back to verify their
mission, and when they return he has vanished.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Reflection on Tao, rule, and misplaced value
summary: The passage presents self-culture as the best part of Tao, treats political
rule as lesser, and compares worldly misvaluation to using a priceless pearl to
shoot a bird.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Lieh Tzŭ refuses food
summary: Lieh Tzŭ is poor, but he refuses food sent by Tzŭ Yang because the official's
favor depends on hearsay.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Yüeh refuses reward and office
summary: After following Prince Chao into exile, Yüeh refuses reward, audience,
and promotion, saying he did not merit them and wishes to return to his butchery.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Yüan Hsien distinguishes poverty from incapacity
summary: Yüan Hsien lives in visible poverty; when the wealthy Tzŭ Kung questions
him, he says poverty is not the same as having something wrong with him and rejects
showy social striving.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: refusal of wealth and office
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Multiple anecdotes center on figures declining presents, food, reward, promotion,
or social advancement in favor of independence or principle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage frames the pattern as moral
and Daoist wisdom rather than as a single named mythic motif.
- id: motif:2
label: misvaluing life by sacrificing the greater for the lesser
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The pearl analogy explicitly criticizes sacrificing something greater for
something lesser and states that life is more important than the pearl.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is an ethical exemplum rather than a narrative episode with mythic
actors.
- id: motif:3
label: poverty without spiritual or moral defect
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Lieh Tzŭ and Yüan Hsien are poor, but the passage associates them with Tao
or principled conduct rather than failure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is inferred from juxtaposed anecdotes; only Yüan Hsien states
the distinction explicitly.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: 'The anecdotes of Yen Ho, Lieh Tzŭ, Yüeh, and Yüan Hsien serve a similar
function within the passage: they exemplify independence from wealth, patronage,
or public status.'
claim_level: same_function
target: Repeated internal exemplum pattern within this passage
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is an internal functional comparison only; it does not claim historical
contact, common inheritance, or identity with an external motif tradition.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 12294-12302
quote_or_summary: Yen Ho tells messengers who bring presents to verify their errand;
when they return, he cannot be found, and the narrator says men like him hate
wealth and power.
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 12303-12321
quote_or_summary: The passage ranks self-culture above governing and criticizes
those who endanger life for worldly things, using the prince of Sui's pearl shot
at a bird as an example of sacrificing the greater for the less.
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 12322-12352
quote_or_summary: Lieh Tzŭ is poor; Tzŭ Yang sends food after hearing a report,
but Lieh Tzŭ refuses because the favor depends on others' speech, and Tzŭ Yang
is later slain amid unrest.
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 12353-12400
quote_or_summary: Yüeh the butcher follows Prince Chao into exile but, after the
prince's restoration, refuses reward, audience, and the office of San Ching, asking
to return to his butchery.
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 12401-12421
quote_or_summary: Yüan Hsien lives in a poor hut and plays guitar; Tzŭ Kung arrives
in a fine chariot, questions him, and Yüan Hsien replies that he is merely poor,
not defective, and rejects showy advancement.
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: medium
notes: The literal extraction is well supported by the supplied passage. Motif labels
are intentionally broad and should be reviewed for project taxonomy fit.
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: |-
Used only the provided passage and metadata; no external parallels or unsupported taxonomy IDs added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg__l12294-l12421
passage_sha256=301825aa1304fe409b6afed348f89c398f19b1e54a65a98b1e14eb2311fb39bc