Erwang Temple famous for the Hall of Three Gods – the Heaven, Earth & Water Gods next to Dujiangyan Waterworks north of Chengdu in China.
‘We are such stuff / As dreams are made on, and our little life / Is rounded with a sleep.’ These lines appear in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, in one of Prospero’s most famous speeches (‘Our revels now are ended’). Drawn from the Tempest is the line ‘We are such stuff that dreams are made of’.
Who was King Mu of Zhou, and what makes him important enough to have a chapter in “My Travels with Lieh Tzu” named after him? It’s about history, its connection to the story of human existence, and how nature intertwines with the events that shape our world. It explores how the world is perceived through senses, how life can seem like an illusion, and the significance of enlightenment. It’s about awakening from illusion and discovering the reality beyond it.
King Mu was arguably the most influential ruler of the Zhou dynasty, with a reign spanning nearly 55 years, from around 976 BC to 922 BC. While he was more ambitious than prudent, he successfully implemented reforms that shifted the Zhou government from a hereditary system to one based on merit and administrative expertise. The importance of history is it demonstrates both success and failure. How four hundred years later Confucius was able to benefit from the wisdom that came before him.
By the time Lieh Tzu emerged, the history tied to the King Mu period was already deeply ingrained. This legacy first inspired the creation of the Book of Rites by Ji Dan around 900 B.C., and later, in 500 B.C., Confucius expanded upon it. This foundation eventually led to the examination system, which became essential for securing government positions and lasted for over a thousand years. Its influence on popular culture added structure and discipline that extended all the way to the emperor.
Naming a chapter from The Book of Lieh Tzu after King Mu of Zhou creates a connection spanning centuries, highlighting how the power of dreams can transport people beyond the ordinary to a place they aspire to reach.
My travels with Lieh Tzu / Interpolations along the Way
Chapter 3 – King Mu of Zhou
38. Finding clouds of virtue
Coming forth as the one who can enter fire and water, pierce metal and stone, 
overturn mountains, turn back the rivers, ride the empty chair without falling and pass unhindered through solid objects without the need to do so. Able to change the shape of things and the thoughts of men.
All seeing you as something above themselves as someone to be emulated. However, the refinements and niceties brought to you are rebuked as having no real value. Trying again to please you, your host creates for you things he feels unworthy of mere mortals. As your power is above all he has previously seen or known.
Scoffing, you ask your host to come with you on a journey. Accepting, you are both drifting upwards into the sky where you come upon your own palace.
Suddenly awakened it is as if your host has returned from a dream. His feet never having left their pedestal. Built of gold and silver, strung with pearls and jades. Above the clouds. All that could be smelled, touched, tasted or the nose could inhale was above that known to man. Your guest feels that he is in heaven. When looking down his own quarters appear disheveled and remote. Again, asking to go further, you both go forward higher to heights unknown and unconsidered. Neither the sun nor moon could now be seen, or the earth below could be found as a reference. In fear, the one you brought with you asks to return to his humble abode.
As if reborn, your host asks where you and he have traveled. You tell him that he has traveled on a journey of the spirit. Why should you have moved from where you are seated? Can you really know what is real or imagined? What your hands and feet have experienced or what you have now seen in a dream?
Seemingly empowered, your host leaves behind all that he has found in comfort and cherished. Riding the four winds, he now realized what he had neglected in virtue for pleasure. Much too late to gain in eternity, he can only reap his life’s rewards. 2/5/95
Number thirty-eight of one hundred fifty-eight entries.
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