A Story from Liezi

Tweet

There was a rich man in the state of Qi named Guo and a poor man named Xiang. Xiang journeyed from the state of Song to Qi to ask Guo about the secret of the latter's wealth. "Because I am a good thief," Guo replied. He went on to say that in the first year he had enough, in the second year he had more and in the third year he made a rich harvest. Later on, Guo said, he ended up owning whole districts and villages. Xiang as excited. He took Guo's words literally and went on a career of theft, breaking into houses and stealing valuables. Eventually he was caught and, after serving sentence, went back to Guo to complain about his circumstances. He believed Guo had tricked him. "The things that I steal are the riches of Heaven and Earth, each in their own season," Guo clarified. He revealed to Xiang that he used the rainwater from Heaven to water his crops, the clay to make bricks for his home and the fish and game for food. "For corn and grain, clay and wood, birds and beasts, fishes and turtles are all products of nature," he concluded.