Classical Prose
种树郭橐驼传
郭橐驼，不知始何名。
病偻，隆然伏行，有类橐驼者，故乡人号之“驼”。
驼闻之曰：“甚善。名我固当。”
其乡曰丰乐乡，在长安西。
橐驼业种树，凡长安豪富人为观游及卖果者，皆争迎取养。
视驼所种树，或移徙，无不活；且硕茂，早实以蕃。
有问之，对曰：“橐驼非能使木寿且孳也，能顺木之天，以致其性焉尔。”
凡植木之性，其本欲舒，其培欲平，其土欲故，其筑欲密。
既然已，勿动勿虑，去不复顾。
其莳也若子，其置也若弃。
虽曰爱之，其实害之；虽曰忧之，其实仇之。
问者曰：“以子之道，移之官理，可乎？”
驼曰：“我知种树而已，官理，非吾业也。”
然吾居乡，见长人者好烦其令，若甚怜焉，而卒以祸之。
问者嘻曰：“不亦善夫！吾问养树，得养人术。”
传其事以为官戒。
Translation
Guo Tuotuo’s original name was unknown. Because of a hunched back, he walked bent over and resembled a camel, so the villagers called him “Camel.” Hearing this, he said the name suited him and adopted it himself. He lived in Fengle Village west of Chang’an and made his living planting trees. Wealthy households hired him for gardens and fruit trees. Trees he planted, even when transplanted, always survived, grew lush, and bore fruit early and abundantly. Others imitated him but could not equal him. When asked why, he said that he did not have the power to make trees live long and flourish. He merely followed their nature. The roots should be spread, the soil level, the original soil kept, and the packed earth firm. Once this is done, one should not move the tree, worry over it, or keep checking it. Plant it as if caring for a child; then leave it as if abandoning it. Other planters either use the wrong method or love and worry too much. They inspect the trees morning and evening, scrape the bark, and shake the roots. Though they call it love, it is harm; though they call it concern, it is enmity. When asked whether this principle could apply to government, Guo said he knew only tree planting. Yet he had seen officials issue too many orders, seeming to care for the people but in fact harming them. The questioner then exclaimed that he had asked about tending trees and received a method for tending people.
Analysis
This essay uses tree planting as an allegory for government. Guo Tuotuo’s principle is to follow the nature of the tree and allow its own character to unfold. He does not force growth; he simply avoids harming it. The line “plant it as if caring for a child; leave it as if abandoning it” captures the balance between proper care and noninterference. One must do what is necessary at the beginning, then allow natural growth. The political meaning is clear. Officials who issue constant orders may appear to care for the people, but excessive interference harms them. Liu Zongyuan’s lesson is that good governance should create stable conditions and disturb the people as little as possible.
About the Author
Liu Zongyuan was a Tang dynasty writer and thinker known for fables, biographies, landscape essays, and socially critical prose. His writing often turns concrete experience into political and philosophical reflection. “The Biography of Guo Tuotuo the Tree Planter” is a classic example of this method.