New Meanings of the Artificers' Record: Volume 1

Page 9

...distinguishable from a great distance. Regarding the term "lower pond" original: xia chi (下池). This technical term refers to the subtle tapering or "recession" of the wheel's rim where it meets the ground or where the spokes are mortised., when one observes the inner face of the rim facing the center to receive the spokes, it must be perfectly square. Although what is being observed here is specifically the rim, the text uses the word "wheel." This is because when gazing from a distance, one sees the grand scale of the object rather than its minute details; therefore, the circumference of the rim is used to represent the whole.

"Level and even" original: ming-er (瞑爾) means that the measurements around the entire circumference are uniform. "Lower pond" refers to the way the parts nearest the ground gradually taper. The skill of a master craftsman resides in the heart and is focused through the eyes; it is not something that can be fully captured by the compass, the square, the plumb-line, or the ink-cord gui-ju-sheng-mo: the four standard measuring tools of ancient carpentry, symbolizing rigid rules.

Therefore it is said: Artisan Chui Gong Chui, a legendary master craftsman of antiquity, mentioned in the Zhuangzi, who was said to be so skilled he didn't need tools. could draw a circle by hand that surpassed one made with a compass. His fingers transformed along with the object itself without his mind needing to check or calculate; he used the "skill of the eye."

Li Guangdi A renowned Qing dynasty scholar (1642–1718) and advisor to the Kangxi Emperor. says: "The previous passage discussed combining the three components to make a wheel, in which case the hub comes first, the spokes are next, and the rim is last. This passage, however, deals with the wheel once it is completed to inspect whether it is well-made or not. In inspection, one first looks at the [outer] wheel, then the spokes, and finally the hub. This is the inherent logic of physical objects and the proper order of discourse."