Neither Fury Nor Favor: The Balance of the Beast-Tamer

 'Liang Yang', an animal trainer for the livestock official of the Western 'Zhou' Dynasty's King 'Xuan', could domesticate any kind of fierce beast or wildfowl-tigers, wolves, vultures or owls. After domestication various animals lived together in peace.

Fearing this consummate skill of 'Liang Yang's would be lost, King 'Xuan' ordered 'Mao Qiuyuan' to learn from him. 

'Liang Yang' told 'Mao', "I am an ordinary animal breeder. How could I have any superb technique to pass on to you?" But if I don't tell you anything, His Majesty will accuse me of concealment, so I'll introduce you to my way of raising tigers.

"All short-tempered animals like to be obeyed and get furious at disobedience, so tigers dare not feed living animals to tigers for fear they will become angry in pursuit. Nor has a whole animal ever been offered, for it require effort to tear it to bits. A tiger breeder should know when the tiger is hungry and what will irritate it. Though tiger and men are different species, tigers keep on intimate terms with their breeders because these breeders know their disposition and never disobey them.

" I have never disobeyed my tigers to make them furious or pleased them with endless obedience. Frequent rejoicing will surely be followed by fury and repeated fury by joy, neither of which is good. Now, I am always calm and tranquil and never overobedient or too irritating. Thus, in the eyes of birds and beasts, I am their own kind, and they live in my garden as if it were their own and never miss forest, sea, mountain, or valley."