Guo the Tree Planter’s Wisdom | Generated by AI
Question: Provide the English translation of “种树郭橐驼传” (Liu Zongyuan)
Answer:
The Biography of Camelback Guo the Tree Planter
(Translated from Liu Zongyuan’s “Zhong Shu Guo Tuo Tuo Zhuan”)
There was a man in Chang’an whose surname was Guo and whose given name people did not know. Because he had a hump on his back like a camel’s, he was called Camelback Guo. He lived in the market of Fengle and made his living by planting trees. All the wealthy families of Chang’an who wanted beautiful gardens, as well as those who sold fruit, all competed to invite him to plant trees for them. When Guo planted trees, those he had planted or transplanted never died, and they always grew large, luxuriant, early to bear fruit, and abundant in produce. Other tree planters, even if they watched him stealthily and imitated him, could never surpass him.
Someone asked him the reason. Guo replied, “I am not able to make trees live or make them bear fruit early. I am only able to follow the natural way of trees. The way of trees is this: their roots must be spread out, their soil must be firm and even, their original soil must be kept, and the earth around them must be pounded down firmly. Once this is done, do not move them, do not think about them, do not speak of them. When you plant them, treat them as if they were your own children; when you leave them, abandon them as if you had forgotten them. Then their nature will be preserved in full and their way will be followed completely. Therefore I do not damage their nature; I only assist their natural growth.
“Other planters do the opposite: they bind the roots too tightly, they change the original soil, they cut the fine root hairs, they add too much fertilizer, and they pat the soil too gently. When they have planted the tree, they love it excessively, worry about it constantly, inspect it morning and evening, and even scratch the bark to see if it is alive or dead, shake the trunk to see if it is firmly rooted or loose. In this way they damage its nature severely. Though they say they love it, they actually harm it; though they say they worry about it, they actually oppose it. Therefore the trees are inferior to mine. What I do is simply not to harm them, that is all; I do not have any special skill.”
Asked further, “Can this method be applied to governing the people?”
Guo laughed and said, “I am only a planter of trees. Governing the people is not my profession. Yet I have heard from those who govern that they do the same thing. They love the people excessively and worry about them constantly. They issue many orders, issue many prohibitions, and give many instructions. As a result the people become exhausted from obeying them. They are not allowed to rest, and their livelihood is harmed. They are called good officials, but in reality they harm the people. This is very similar to the way other tree planters damage trees.”
I was greatly moved by his words and recorded them as a warning to those who act as officials.
References:
- Classical Chinese Literature (Chinese Text Project - original text)
- Various public domain translations including those by Herbert Giles and others in anthologies of Tang prose