Sparing Trouble

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

3.8

Word count: 1.6K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

The inscription on the metal statue says: "Do not speak much; much speech brings much failure; do not do much; much doing brings much trouble." How true this warning is! Those that can run have their wings taken away; those that fly well have their fingers reduced; those with horns have no upper teeth; those with abundant hindquarters have no forelegs—for the way of Heaven does not let any thing possess all. The ancients said: "To do many things with little skill is not as good as holding to one; the flying squirrel has five abilities but no skill." In recent times there were two men, intelligent scholars, whose natures were to undertake many things, yet they achieved no fame at all: in the classics they were not up to being questioned, in history not up to discussion, in prose and poetry nothing worth passing down in a collection, in calligraphy not worth keeping for appreciation, in divination they hit three out of six, in medicine they cured five out of ten, in music they were below several dozen men, in archery and archery they were among a thousand or a hundred, in astronomy, painting, chess and bo, Xianbei speech, barbarian writing, frying walnut oil, and refining tin into silver—in such things they had a rough grasp, but none was mastered. What a pity! With their intelligence, if they had cut back on these side pursuits, they would surely have reached refinement.

Editor's review

Although "Sparing Matters" is short, it is a maxim about life that speaks directly to the heart. The text has the inscription on the metal statue bring forth the warning that "much speech brings much failure, much doing brings much trouble," then uses natural phenomena such as "those that can run have their wings taken away; those that fly well have their fingers reduced" to show that the way of Heaven does not let all things possess everything, and then points out the harm of greedy multiplicity with the allusion "the flying squirrel has five abilities but no skill." The author also takes two recent "intelligent scholars" as examples, carefully listing their shallow, none-too-mastered attainments in classics and history, prose and poetry, calligraphy, divination, medicine, music, archery, painting, chess, and even barbarian languages and writing—a warning to readers. The core claim of the whole text is "to do many things with little skill is not as good as holding to one," urging people to gather their energies and concentrate on one path. In the present age of information overload, when everyone pursues multitasking skills, this short text is especially relevant. It is suitable as a bedside self-cultivation reader, and also for turning to when one feels scattered in energy and confused in direction, using the words of the ancients to recalibrate one's choices.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who wish to reflect on their allocation of energy and overcome the habit of greedy comprehensiveness
General readers interested in traditional maxims of self-cultivation and wisdom for living
Young people at a stage of choosing a career direction who need advice on concentration
Lovers of short classical prose willing to read closely and savor

Not a good fit for

Research-oriented readers expecting systematic academic textual criticism or long-form argument
Readers needing systematic skill-training methods rather than conceptual inspiration

Reading tips

First read the original text through once, then understand it sentence by sentence with notes, focusing on the contrast between "holding to one" and "many abilities."
When reaching "the flying squirrel has five abilities," pause and list the things you are currently pushing forward at the same time, making a list of trade-offs.
Copy "to do many things with little skill is not as good as holding to one" as a motto, and review your execution once every other week.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
省事第十二

FAQ

What does "the flying squirrel has five abilities but no skill" mean?

This is an ancient criticism of the flying squirrel, saying it is said to be able to fly, climb, swim, run, hide, and so on, but is not skilled at any one of them and cannot achieve true mastery. The text uses this allusion to show that touching on a bit of everything leaves nothing one can show, and it is better to concentrate on doing one thing thoroughly.

What do the examples of the two "intelligent scholars" in the text intend to show?

The author says these two men were naturally clever and ranged over classics and history, prose and poetry, calligraphy, divination, medicine, music, archery, astronomy, painting, chess and bo, and even Xianbei speech and barbarian writing, but understood only the outline of each and mastered none, so they achieved no fame. The author uses this to lament: if they could have concentrated their intelligence in one place, they could have reached a refined state.

Is this short text suitable for reading in one sitting?

The whole text is very short and can certainly be read in one sitting. But because it is in the form of maxims and is information-dense, it is more rewarding to pause after reading and think about the parts related to your own situation than to read it quickly.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.