Without Genuineness and Sincerity, One Cannot Move Others

“Without genuineness and sincerity, one cannot move others” appears in “The Fisherman”, one of the Miscellaneous Chapters of the Zhuangzi. The preceding line calls the genuine the highest point of refined sincerity. What follows contrasts it with forced grief that carries no sorrow, forced anger that has no authority, and forced affection whose smile lacks harmony.

Here, “moving others” is not a technique of modern persuasion. It is the force that can arise when feeling and action fit each other. Nor does the sentence promise that sincerity will make everyone agree. Sincerity keeps expression from splitting internally; whether another person accepts it still depends on facts, relationships and judgement.

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