Su Shu — Attributed to Huang Shigong
This short prose treatise is traditionally credited to Huang Shigong, "the Squire of the Yellow Stone" — the legendary recluse of the Zhang Liang bridge story recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian, who is said to have tested the young strategist's patience before handing him a book of hidden teaching. Later tradition, reflected in this text's own transmission, identifies that hidden teaching with the Su Shu; the Chinese Wikisource witness used here dates the work, by that same tradition, to the Western Han, though the text's actual date of composition is not something this translation can settle. Its earliest surviving commentary is credited to the Song-dynasty statesman Zhang Shangying. The work is preserved among the classics of the Daoist Canon, though its six chapters draw as freely on Confucian and Legalist statecraft as on Daoist thought.
The text is continuous prose in six short chapters, each closing with its own one-line summary — "the foregoing chapter says..." — a device this translation keeps. Its subject is the private discipline that fits a person to lead: the first chapter names the Way, Character, Benevolence, Righteousness, and Ritual Propriety as branches of a single root; the third and fourth catalogue the restraint, broad learning, and deep planning by which a person becomes fit to seek out and hold worthy allies; the fifth and sixth turn outward, to the trust, reward, and self-command that make or break a ruler and a state.
A note on method: the first chapter defines each of its five key terms by a Chinese near-homophone — the Way (dao 道) is what a person "treads" (dao 蹈); Character (de 德) is what a person "obtains" (de 得); Righteousness (yi 義) is what is "fitting" (yi 宜); Ritual Propriety (li 禮) is what a person "walks by" (li 履) — a wordplay of definition common to Han-dynasty lexicography that this translation can carry in sense but not in sound. De (德) is rendered "Character" throughout, following this library's house choice, to recover the word's original sense of a thing's own particular power made manifest, rather than the moralized "Virtue."
Translated for the Good Works Library directly from the classical Chinese, printed in full below. A translation-status check turned up no complete published English translation of the Su Shu that could be confirmed; to the limit of what we were able to check, we know of none, though the search was not exhaustive (see the colophon).
Translation
Chapter One: Tracing the Origin
Now the Way, Character, Benevolence, Righteousness, and Ritual Propriety — these five are a single body. The Way is what a person walks: it lets the ten thousand things go on without their knowing why. Character is what a person obtains: it lets the ten thousand things each obtain what they desire. Benevolence is what a person holds dear — a heart of kindness, generosity, and compassion, by which the growth of living things is carried to completion. Righteousness is what is fitting for a person — rewarding good and punishing evil, by which merit is established and affairs accomplished. Ritual Propriety is what a person conducts himself by — rising early and retiring late, by which the order of human relations is completed.
As the root of what it is to be a person, none of these five can be lacking. The worthy and the noble are clear about the way of flourishing and decline, versed in the reckoning of success and failure, discerning of the trend of order and disorder, and thorough in the principle of when to withdraw and when to serve. Therefore they dwell in hiding, embracing the Way, and await their season. If the time comes and they act, they can rise to the very summit of ministerial rank; if they seize the opportunity and move, they can achieve merit unmatched by any age. If they meet no such fortune, they simply live out their days in quiet obscurity. Thus their Way stands sufficiently high, and their name carries weight for generations after.
The foregoing is Chapter One: it says that the Way must not be without an origin.
Chapter Two: The Right Way
Character enough to draw the distant near; trust enough to make the divided one; righteousness enough to win the multitude; talent enough to mirror the past; clarity enough to illumine those below — this is the eminent among people. Conduct enough to serve as a model; wisdom enough to settle doubt and suspicion; trust enough to hold others to their word; integrity enough to divide wealth fairly — this is the great-hearted among people. Holding one's post without abandoning it; dwelling in righteousness without turning back; meeting suspicion without seeking a cheap escape; meeting profit without taking it lightly — this is the heroic among people.
The foregoing is Chapter Two: it says that the Way must not be other than correct.
Chapter Three: The Pursuit of Resolve
Cutting off cravings and forbidding desires is how one removes entanglement; restraining wrongdoing and lessening evil is how one wards off transgression; curbing wine and abstaining from lust is how one stays unstained; avoiding suspicion and keeping distance from doubt is how one avoids error; broad learning and earnest questioning is how one widens knowledge; lofty conduct and sparing speech is how one cultivates the self; reverence, frugality, humility, and restraint is how one keeps to himself; deep calculation and far-reaching forethought is how one is never brought to an impasse; drawing near to the benevolent and befriending the upright is how one is upheld against falling; keeping close to forbearance and sincere conduct is how one deals with others; appointing by talent and employing by ability is how affairs are carried through; detesting evil and rejecting slander is how disorder is stopped; weighing the past to test the present is how one avoids confusion; estimating first and then measuring is how one meets the unexpected; devising change and exercising discretion is how knots are untied; drawing the sack shut and following the moment's turn is how one stays free of fault; standing firm and unbending is how merit is established; and untiring, unfailing goodness is how one preserves a good end.
The foregoing is Chapter Three: it says that resolve must not be pursued recklessly.
Chapter Four: Rooted in Character, Sourced in the Way
In the art of fixing one's resolve and acting with sincerity: nothing grows greater than broad counsel; nothing is more secure than enduring disgrace; nothing comes before cultivating Character; nothing brings more joy than loving the good; nothing is more numinous than utmost sincerity; nothing is clearer-sighted than grasping things in their substance; nothing is more fortunate than knowing when one has enough; nothing is more bitter than wanting too much; nothing is sadder than the scattering of one's vital essence; nothing is more sickly than inconstancy; nothing is pettier than taking what is not rightly one's own; nothing is darker than greed and meanness; nothing is more isolating than relying only on oneself; nothing is more dangerous than entrusting affairs to one already doubted; nothing is more ruinous than excessive self-interest.
The foregoing is Chapter Four: it says that root and source must not depart from Character.
Chapter Five: Following Righteousness
One who displays cleverness to those below is himself in the dark; one who has faults and does not know them is worn down; one who is lost and does not turn back is deluded; one who invites resentment through speech brings calamity on himself; one whose orders betray his own heart is cast aside; one whose later orders contradict his earlier ones is discredited; one who rages without authority is defied; one who loves bluntness to the point of shaming others brings misfortune on himself; one who kills or humiliates those he has entrusted with duty is endangered; one who is careless of those he ought to revere meets disaster; one whose face agrees but whose heart is estranged ends isolated; one who draws near to slanderers and distances the loyal perishes; one who draws near to lust and distances the worthy grows benighted; one who lets appeals made through the women's chambers move in the open invites disorder; one who hands out office as a private favor is rootless; one who oppresses those below to win advantage commits encroachment; one whose name outweighs his substance is depleted; one who is lax with himself and demanding of others achieves no good order; one who is generous to himself and stingy to others is abandoned; one who discards merit for a single fault suffers loss; one whose subordinates are estranged sinks into ruin; one who employs a man yet will not trust him with real charge grows distant from him; one who is grudging in manner even while rewarding dispirits those he rewards; one who promises much and gives little earns resentment; one who first welcomes and then refuses acts against reason; one who gives little but expects much receives no repayment; one who, once exalted, forgets his own humble beginnings does not last long; one who nurses old grudges and discards new merit meets misfortune; one who employs people without securing the right ones courts danger; one who forces people into service cannot keep them; one who chooses offices to suit the man brings disorder; one who loses what made him strong becomes weak; one who makes decisions with the unbenevolent courts peril; one whose secret plans leak outward meets defeat; one who taxes heavily and gives sparingly withers away; when soldiers go poor while wandering persuaders grow rich, this is decline; when bribery moves in the open, this is benightedness; one who hears of good deeds and lets them slip, yet remembers every fault and forgets none, is tyrannical; one whose appointees cannot be trusted, and whose trusted men cannot be given real charge, is corrupt; one who shepherds people by Character draws them together; one who binds people by punishment scatters them.
If small merit goes unrewarded, great merit will not be established; if small grievances are not forgiven, great grievances will surely arise.
One whose rewards do not win people's hearts, and whose punishments people do not accept as just, will face rebellion; one whose rewards reach the meritless and whose punishments fall on the guiltless is cruel.
One who delights in slander and treats honest remonstrance as an enemy will perish.
One who is able to keep what is rightly his own is secure; one who covets what belongs to others brings ruin on himself.
The foregoing is Chapter Five: it says that to comply with these and put them into practice is Righteousness.
Chapter Six: At Peace with Ritual Propriety
Resentment lies in not forgiving small faults. Calamity lies in failing to lay plans beforehand.
Good fortune lies in accumulating goodness; misfortune lies in accumulating evil; famine lies in holding farming cheap; cold lies in neglecting the loom; peace lies in winning the right people; danger lies in mismanaging affairs.
Wealth lies in welcoming what comes; poverty lies in letting the moment slip.
Those above should never be habitually rash; those below should hold no habitual suspicion.
To treat a superior lightly breeds offense; to treat a subordinate with contempt wins no loyalty.
If close ministers are not given due weight, distant ministers will make light of their lord as well.
One who doubts himself does not trust others; one who trusts himself does not doubt others.
A crooked officer has no upright friends; a crooked superior has no upright subordinates; an endangered state has no worthy people left in it; a disordered government has no good people in it.
One who loves people deeply seeks the worthy urgently; one who delights in gaining the worthy supports people generously.
When a state is about to rise to mastery, all able men flock to it; when a state is about to fall, the worthy withdraw first.
Where the soil is thin, great things do not grow; where the water is shallow, great things do not swim; where the trees stand bare, great birds do not roost; where the forest thins, great beasts do not dwell.
A mountain too steep collapses; a marsh too full overflows.
One who discards jade and takes mere stone is blind; a sheep in a tiger's hide is nothing but show.
One who dresses without first straightening the collar puts everything on backward; one who runs without watching the ground stumbles.
Where the pillars are weak, the house collapses; where the ministers are weak, the state topples.
Cold feet injure the heart; a resentful people injures the state; when a mountain is about to collapse, its base crumbles first; when a state is about to decline, its people grow worn first.
When roots wither, branches rot; when the people are broken, the state is ruined.
One who follows the ruts of an overturned cart will overturn as it did; one who shares the course of a fallen state will fall as it fell.
Seeing what has already happened, be wary of what is about to happen; hating the traces of disaster, one must avoid them.
One who fears danger is secure; one who fears ruin survives.
Now in all that a person does: with the Way, there is good fortune; without the Way, there is misfortune. Good fortune is where a hundred blessings converge; misfortune is where a hundred calamities converge. This is not the working of gods or sages — it is what nature itself concentrates.
One devoted to good planning meets no calamity; one without far-off forethought has troubles close at hand.
Those who share ambition find one another; those who share benevolence share each other's cares; those who share wickedness band together; those who share affection seek each other out; those who share beauty envy one another; those who share cleverness scheme against one another; those who share high rank do each other harm; those who share profit grow jealous of one another; those who share a note answer one another; those who share a temper are stirred by one another; those who share a kind depend on one another; those who share righteousness grow close to one another; those who share hardship help each other through; those who share the Way bring each other to completion; those who share a craft correct one another; those who share cunning try to outdo one another — this is simply what the pattern of things yields, and none of it runs against reason.
One who sets himself aside and tries to teach others goes against the grain; one who first corrects himself and so transforms others goes with it. What goes against the grain is hard to follow; what goes with it is easy to practice. What is hard to follow ends in disorder; what is easy to practice ends in order. In this way, the governing of the self, the governing of the household, and the governing of the state all become possible.
The foregoing is Chapter Six: it says that to rest securely in these and walk by them is called Ritual Propriety.
Colophon
This Good Works Translation was prepared for the Daoist shelf of the Good Works Library. The English was translated independently from the classical Chinese text printed below. The source is continuous prose in six chapters; each chapter's own closing one-line summary ("the foregoing chapter says...") is kept as the final sentence of its chapter. The long catalogues of parallel maxims that make up chapters three through six are set as continuous prose, following the source's own paragraphing and punctuation, rather than broken into lists.
Before the claim above was written, a translation-status check was performed. The two local bibliographies of Daoist texts in Western-language translation (Komjathy's Daoist Texts in Translation and the 2023 Purple Cloud update) were searched for 素書, Su Shu, Huang Shigong, and 黃石公; neither lists an entry for this text, though both are focused specifically on Daoist devotional and cultivation literature, and the Su Shu's Legalist and statecraft coloring means its absence there is suggestive rather than conclusive. Two web searches were run on the Chinese and romanized titles; both returned secondary reference material (an encyclopedia article on Huang Shigong, bibliographic and bookseller listings) and, separately, a modern anthology of the Seven Military Classics containing the Three Strategies of Huang Shigong — a different work traditionally credited to the same legendary figure — but no result named a specific complete published English translation of the Su Shu itself, with a translator, publisher, and year we could confirm. A further attempt to check a dedicated bibliographic reference page failed twice on a technical connection error and could not be completed. We therefore make no claim of priority: to the limit of what could be checked, we know of no complete published English translation of the Su Shu, but this was not an exhaustive search.
A note on one word. De 德, defined in the text's own first chapter as what a person obtains, is rendered "Character" throughout rather than "Virtue," following this library's standing choice for the term — the particular power of a thing, or a person, made manifest, rather than a moralized abstraction.
Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation and editorial work.
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Source Text: 素書
Classical Chinese text of the Daoist Canon, in the Chinese Wikisource transcription. Presented complete for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
原始章第一
夫道、德、仁、義、禮，五者一體也。道者，人之所蹈，使萬物不知其所由；德者，人之所得，使萬物各得其所欲；仁者，人之所親，有慈惠惻隱之心，以遂其生成；義者，人之所宜，賞善罰惡，以立功立事；禮者，人之所履，夙興夜寐，以成人倫之序。夫欲為人之本，不可無一焉。賢人君子明于盛衰之道，通乎成敗之數，審乎治亂之勢，達乎去就之理，故潛居抱道，以待其時。若時至而行，則能極人臣之位；得機而動，則能成絕代之功。如其不遇，沒身而已。是以其道足高，而名重于后代。右第一章，言道不可以無始。
正道章第二
德足以懷遠，信足以一異，義足以得眾，才足以鑒古，明足以照下，此人之俊也。行足以為儀表，智足以決嫌疑，信足以使守約，廉足以使分財，此人之豪也。守職而不廢，處義而不回，見嫌而不茍免，見利而不茍得，此人之杰也。右第二章，言道不可以非正。
求人之志章第三
絕嗜禁欲，所以除累；抑非損惡，所以禳過；貶酒闕色，所以無污；避嫌遠疑，所以不誤；博學切問，所以廣知；高行微言，所以修身；恭儉謙約，所以自守；深計遠慮，所以不窮；親仁友直，所以扶顛；近恕篤行，所以接人；任材使能，所以濟務；癉惡斥讒，所以止亂；推古驗今，所以不惑；先揆后度，所以應卒；設變致權，所以解結；括囊順會，所以無咎；橛橛梗梗，所以立功；孜孜淑淑，所以保終。右第三章，言志不可以妄求。
本德宗道章第四
夫志心篤行之術，長莫長于博謀，安莫安于忍辱，先莫先于修德，樂莫樂于好善，神莫神于至誠；明莫明于體物；吉莫吉于知足，苦莫苦于多愿，悲莫悲于精散，病莫病于無常，短莫短于茍得，幽莫幽于貪鄙，孤莫孤于自恃，危莫危于任疑，敗莫敗于多私。右第四章，言本宗不可以離德。
遵義章第五
以明示下者暗，有過不知者弊，迷而不返者惑，以言取怨者禍，令與心乖者廢，后令謬前者毀，怒而無威者犯，好直辱人者殃，戮辱所任者危，慢其所敬者兇，貌合心離者孤，親讒遠忠者亡，近色遠賢者惛，女謁公行者亂，私人以官者浮，凌下取勝者侵，名不勝實者耗，略己而責人者不治，自厚而薄人者棄，以過棄功者損，群下外異者淪，既用不任者疏，行賞吝色者沮，多許少與者怨，既迎而拒者乖，薄施厚望者不報，貴而忘賤者不久，念舊怨而棄新功者兇，用人不得正者殆，強用人者不畜，為人擇官者亂，失其所強者弱，決策于不仁者險，陰計外泄者敗，厚斂薄施者凋。戰士貧、游士富者衰，貨賂公行者昧，聞善忽略、記過不忘者暴，所任不可信，所信不可任者濁，牧人以德者集，繩人以刑者散。小功不賞，則大功不立，小怨不赦，則大怨必生。賞不服人，罰不甘心者叛，賞及無功，罰及無罪者酷。聽讒而美、聞諫而仇者亡。能有其有者安，貪人之有者殘。右第五章，言遵而行之者義也。
安禮章第六
怨在不舍小過，患在不預定謀。福在積善，禍在積惡，饑在賤農，寒在惰織，安在得人，危在失事。富在迎來，貧在棄時。上無常躁，下無疑心。輕上生罪，侮下無親。近臣不重，遠臣輕之。自疑不信人，自信不疑人。枉士無直友，曲上無直下，危國無賢人，亂政無善人。愛人深者求賢急，樂得賢者養人厚。國將霸者士皆歸，邦將亡者賢先避。地薄者大物不產，水淺者大物不游，樹禿者大禽不棲，林疏者大獸不居。山峭者崩，澤滿者溢。棄玉取石者盲，羊質虎皮者飾。衣不舉領者倒，走不視地者顛。柱弱者屋壞，輔弱者國傾。足寒傷心，人怨傷國，山將崩者下先隳，國將衰者人先弊。根枯枝朽，人困國殘。與覆車同軌者傾，與亡國同事者滅。見已生者慎將生，惡其跡者須避之。畏危者安，畏亡者存。夫人之所行，有道則吉，無道則兇。吉者百福所歸，兇者百禍所攻，非其神聖，自然所鐘。務善策者無惡事，無遠慮者有近憂。同志相得，同仁相憂，同惡相黨，同愛相求，同美相妒，同智相謀，同貴相害，同利相忌，同聲相應，同氣相感，同類相依，同義相親，同難相濟，同道相成，同藝相規，同巧相勝，此乃數之所得，不有與理違。釋己而教人者逆，正己而化人者順，逆者難從，順者易行，難從則亂，易行則理。如此，理身，理家，理國，可也。右第六章，言安而履之謂禮。
Source Colophon
The Chinese text follows the Chinese Wikisource transcription of the Daoist Canon edition of this text (article 素書, revision of 17 January 2021), inspected from a witness copy captured on 8 August 2026. Chinese Wikisource transcriptions are published under CC BY-SA 4.0 and the GFDL; the text itself is ancient and in the public domain. The wiki header and license templates have been removed; the text is otherwise complete and unaltered.
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