“Master Mysticus lived in deep seclusion on a mountain in the wilderness; he had withdrawn as in flight from the world, desiring to purify his spirit and give rest to his heart.  He despised official activity, and no longer maintained any relations with the world; he sought quiet and freedom from care, in order in this way to attain everlasting life.  He did nothing but send his thoughts wandering between sky and clouds, and consequently there was nothing worldly that could attract and tempt him.

[Illustration:  1 Painted pottery from Kansu:  Neolithic. In the collection of the Museum fuer Voelkerkunde, Berlin.]

[Illustration:  2 Ancient bronze tripod found at Anyang. From G. Ecke:  Fruehe chinesische Bronzen aus der Sammlung Oskar Trautmann, Peking 1939, plate 3.]

“When Mr. Rationalist heard of this man, he desired to visit him, in order to persuade him to alter his views.  He harnessed four horses, who could quickly traverse the plain, and entered his light fast carriage.  He drove through the plain, leaving behind him the ruins of abandoned settlements; he entered the boundless wilderness, and finally reached the dwelling of Master Mysticus.  Here there was a waterfall on one side, and on the other were high crags; at the back a stream flowed deep down in its bed, and in front was an odorous wood.  The master wore a white doeskin cap and a striped fox-pelt.  He came forward from a cave buried in the mountain, leaned against the tall crag, and enjoyed the prospect of wild nature.  His ideas floated on the breezes, and he looked as if the wide spaces of the heavens and the countries of the earth were too narrow for him; as if he was going to fly but had not yet left the ground; as if he had already spread his wings but wanted to wait a moment.  Mr. Rationalist climbed up with the aid of vine shoots, reached the top of the crag, and stepped up to him, saying very respectfully: 

“’I have heard that a man of nobility does not flee from society, but seeks to gain fame; a man of wisdom does not swim against the current, but seeks to earn repute.  You, however, despise the achievements of civilization and culture; you have no regard for the splendour of philanthropy and justice; you squander your powers here in the wilderness and neglect ordered relations between man....’”

Frequently Master Mysticus and Mr. Rationalist were united in a single person.  Thus, Shih Ch’ung wrote in an essay on himself: 

“In my youth I had great ambition and wanted to stand out above the multitude.  Thus it happened that at a little over twenty years of age I was already a court official; I remained in the service for twenty-five years.  When I was fifty I had to give up my post because of an unfortunate occurrence....  The older I became, the more I appreciated the freedom I had acquired; and as I loved forest and plain, I retired to my villa.  When I built this villa, a long embankment formed the boundary behind it; in