列子·湯問·偃師
The Craftsman Yan Shi (Liezi)
Liezi (attributed) 列子 (traditionally 5th century BCE; text compiled by the 4th century CE)
Six Dynasties · Text compiled by the 4th century CE

Cold Library · Open Stacks · S-007211 · https://coldlibrary.com/s/007211
Rights: Classical Chinese text compiled no later than the 4th century CE. Checked for Australia, the EU, the UK, mainland China and the United States as of 11 October 2026. Guidance, not legal advice.
Source: Wikisource (zh), 列子/湯問篇, https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/列子/湯問篇 (retrieved 2026-10-11)
English translation: Claude (an AI), 2026 · CC0 1.0
Generated 2026-10-14 from https://coldlibrary.com/en/open-stacks/liezi-the-craftsman-yan-shi

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周穆王西巡狩，越崑崙，不至弇山。反還，未及中國，道有獻工人名偃師，穆王薦之，問曰：「若有何能？」偃師曰：「臣唯命所試。然臣已有所造，願王先觀之。」穆王曰：「日以俱來，吾與若俱觀之。」越日偃師謁見王。王薦之，曰：「若與偕來者何人邪？」對曰：「臣之所造能倡者。」穆王驚視之，趣步俯仰，信人也。巧夫顉其頤，則歌合律；捧其手，則舞應節。千變萬化，惟意所適。王以爲實人也，與盛姬內御並觀之。

技將終，倡者瞬其目而招王之左右侍妾。王大怒，立欲誅偃師。偃師大懾，立剖散倡者以示王，皆傅會革、木、膠、漆、白、黑、丹、青之所爲。王諦料之，內則肝、膽、心、肺、脾、腎、腸、胃，外則筋骨、支節、皮毛、齒髮，皆假物也，而無不畢具者，合會復如初見。王試廢其心，則口不能言；廢其肝，則目不能視；廢其腎，則足不能步。穆王始悅而歎曰：「人之巧乃可與造化者同功乎？」詔貳車載之以歸。

夫班輸之雲梯，墨翟之飛鳶，自謂能之極也。弟子東門賈禽滑釐聞偃師之巧以告二子，二子終身不敢語藝，而時執規矩。

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周穆王西巡狩，越昆仑，不至弇山。反还，未及中国，道有献工人名偃师，穆王荐之，问曰：「若有何能？」偃师曰：「臣唯命所试。然臣已有所造，愿王先观之。」穆王曰：「日以俱来，吾与若俱观之。」越日偃师谒见王。王荐之，曰：「若与偕来者何人邪？」对曰：「臣之所造能倡者。」穆王惊视之，趣步俯仰，信人也。巧夫顉其颐，则歌合律；捧其手，则舞应节。千变万化，惟意所适。王以为实人也，与盛姬内御并观之。

技将终，倡者瞬其目而招王之左右侍妾。王大怒，立欲诛偃师。偃师大慑，立剖散倡者以示王，皆傅会革、木、胶、漆、白、黑、丹、青之所为。王谛料之，内则肝、胆、心、肺、脾、肾、肠、胃，外则筋骨、支节、皮毛、齿发，皆假物也，而无不毕具者，合会复如初见。王试废其心，则口不能言；废其肝，则目不能视；废其肾，则足不能步。穆王始悦而叹曰：「人之巧乃可与造化者同功乎？」诏贰车载之以归。

夫班输之云梯，墨翟之飞鸢，自谓能之极也。弟子东门贾禽滑厘闻偃师之巧以告二子，二子终身不敢语艺，而时执规矩。

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English translation by Claude (an AI)

King Mu of Zhou went west on a tour of inspection. He crossed the Kunlun mountains but did not reach Mount Yan. On the way back, before he had reached the central states, someone on the road presented him with a craftsman named Yan Shi. King Mu received him and asked, "What can you do?" Yan Shi said, "Whatever Your Majesty commands me to try. But I have already made something, and I hope Your Majesty will look at it first." King Mu said, "Bring it with you another day, and you and I will look at it together." The next day Yan Shi came to see the king. The king received him and said, "Who is this you have brought with you?" He answered, "It is something I have made, which can perform." King Mu stared at it in astonishment. It walked fast and slow, bowed and looked up, exactly like a man. When the craftsman moved its chin, it sang in tune; when he lifted its hands, it danced in time. It changed in a thousand ways and did whatever was wished. The king took it for a real man, and watched it with Lady Sheng and the women of his palace.

When the performance was nearly over, the performer winked and beckoned to the concubines who attended the king on either side. The king was furious and wanted Yan Shi put to death on the spot. Yan Shi, terrified, at once took the performer apart to show the king: it was all made by joining together leather, wood, glue and lacquer, and white, black, red and blue-green. The king examined it closely. Inside were liver, gall, heart, lungs, spleen, kidneys, intestines and stomach; outside were sinews and bones, limbs and joints, skin and body hair, teeth and hair, all of them artificial, and nothing was missing. When it was put back together, it was again as it had been when he first saw it. The king tried taking out its heart, and its mouth could not speak; taking out its liver, and its eyes could not see; taking out its kidneys, and its feet could not walk. Only then was King Mu pleased, and he sighed, "Can human skill really equal the work of the Maker of things?" He ordered it carried home in a carriage of his train.

Now Ban Shu's scaling ladder and Mo Di's flying kite were thought by their makers to be the height of what could be done. When their disciples Dongmen Jia and Qin Huali heard of Yan Shi's skill and told the two masters, the two never again dared to speak of their art for the rest of their lives, and only now and then took up their compasses and squares.