The previous two chapters concern the role of yinyang first in the realm of heaven and earth (tiandi 天地) and then in the realm of “all below heaven” (tianxia 天下), the human world. This chapter will focus on the specific ways in which yinyang thinking is applied as a behavioral model. In spite of common assumptions about yinyang, its main function is not in describing the world or its origins, but rather in enabling one to live well in it. In a tale contained in the Liezi (列子), a very poor Mr. Xiang from the state of Song asks a rich man from the state of Qi for his technique (shu 術) for gaining wealth. The rich man answers simply, “I’m good at stealing [dao盜].” Mr. Xiang is excited and thinks he has found the secret to gaining wealth, so he goes out to commit a robbery. Unfortunately, he is caught and punished. Later, he goes back to ask the rich man why he tricked him. The rich man clarifies “the way of stealing”: “Heaven has its seasons, earth has its benefits. I rob heaven and earth of their seasonal benefits, the clouds and rains of their irrigating floods, the mountains and marches of their products, in order to grow my crops, plant my seeds, raise my walls, build my house.”

Mr. Xiang was still perplexed and thought this rich man was trapping him again. So he came to Master Dongguo for clarification. Master Dongguo answered: “Is not your very body stolen? When you must steal the Yin and Yang energies in harmonious proportions even to achieve your life and sustain your body, how can you take the things outside you without stealing them?”