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Chapter 4 of 33
庄子
Yan Hui went to see Confucius and requested permission to depart.
Confucius asked, "Where are you going?"
Yan Hui said, "I am going to Wei."
Confucius asked, "To do what?"
Yan Hui said, "I have heard that the ruler of Wei is in the prime of life and acts arbitrarily. He governs his state lightly yet cannot see his own faults; he employs his people in warfare recklessly, and those who die in battle fill the marshes like scorched grass and withered plants—the people have nowhere left to flee. I once heard you say, Master: 'Leave a state that is well-governed; enter one that is in chaos. At a healer's door there are many who are ill.' I wish to apply what I have learned to contemplate a way of governance, and perhaps the illness of Wei can be cured!"
Confucius said, "Alas! If you go, I fear you will meet with punishment and execution! The Way (the fundamental principle of all things in the universe) cannot be mixed with anything else. When mixed, it becomes excessive; when excessive, it creates disturbance; when disturbed, it produces anxiety; when anxious, it becomes beyond remedy. The utmost persons of antiquity first made their own cultivation firm and stable, and only then assisted others. If the foundation of one's own mind has not yet been established, what leisure does one have to correct the conduct of a violent man? Moreover, do you know why virtue becomes dissipated and why wisdom becomes shown forth? Virtue becomes dissipated because of the craving for fame; wisdom becomes shown forth because of the struggle for victory. Fame is a tool for mutual supplanting; wit and cleverness are weapons of contention. These two are implements of ill omen and are not fit to accomplish the practice of the Way.
Furthermore, even if your virtue is pure and your sincerity is solid, you may not yet be able to penetrate the disposition of the other; even if you do not contend for fame, you may not yet be able to penetrate his inmost mind. Yet you insist on placing words of benevolence and righteousness before a violent man—this is using the wickedness of others to display your own excellence, and this is called 'harmful to people.' Those who harm others will surely be harmed by them in return. I fear you will be harmed by him.
Moreover, if the lord of Wei truly cherished the worthy and despised the unworthy, what need would there be for you to contrive something new? If you do not offer counsel, he will seize upon your words and argue with you; then your eyes will be dazzled, your countenance will grow compliant, your mouth will hasten to make excuses, your demeanor will bend in acquiescence, and your mind will gradually come to agree with him. This is using fire to save fire, using water to save water—it is called adding to what is already too much. If you begin in this manner, it will have no end. I fear that if you offer loyal counsel before you have won his trust, you will certainly die at the hands of this violent man!
In former times, Jie of Xia killed Guan Longfeng, and Zhou of Shang killed Prince Bigan—both because these men cultivated themselves and, as subjects, cared for the people of their lords, and as those below, opposed those above. Thus their lords, because of their cultivation, cast them out and killed them. This is the fate of those who love fame.
In former times, Yao attacked Congzhi, Xu, and Ao, and Yu attacked Youhu. Their states were reduced to ruins, and their people were put to death and punishment. The use of arms did not cease, and the craving for material gain knew no limit. These were all seekers of fame and profit. Have you not heard this? Fame and profit—even the sage finds them hard to overcome, how much less you! Even so, you must have your own ideas—try telling them to me."
Yan Hui said, "To be upright yet empty in heart, diligent yet single-minded—will this do?"
Confucius said, "No! This will not do! That man appears outwardly full of energy and sweeping display, his countenance changes without rest, and ordinary people do not dare to defy him. He suppresses the feelings of others in order to seek his own ease of mind. This is called: even if one gradually seeks to influence him with small virtue, it does not succeed—how much less with great virtue? He will certainly remain stubbornly unchanging, superficially agreeing while inwardly disapproving—how can your method possibly work?"
Yan Hui said, "Then let me be inwardly upright and outwardly yielding, citing established sayings and comparing upward to the ancients. Being inwardly upright means being akin to Heaven. Those who are akin to Heaven know that the Son of Heaven and themselves are both born of Heaven—why then should they care whether their words are praised or not praised by others? If one can achieve this, everyone will say I am a heavenly child—this is called being of the same kind as Heaven. Being outwardly yielding means being of the same kind as humanity. Holding the tablet, bowing, and kneeling are the rites of a minister. Everyone does this—dare I not do it as well? To do what the multitude does, others will not find fault with me—this is called being of the same kind as humanity. Citing established sayings and comparing upward to the ancients means being of the same kind as antiquity. Although those words contain teachings, they are in substance exhortations and criticisms—yet they have existed since ancient times, and are not my own invention. If one can achieve this, although straightforward in speech, one will not incur resentment—this is called being of the same kind as antiquity. Will this do?"
Confucius said, "No! This will not do! Your plans for correction are too many and do not penetrate. Though rigid and unsophisticated, you may avoid punishment—but that is all. How could this be enough to transform another person? This is still clinging to one's own mind."
Yan Hui said, "I have no better plan left. May I ask what I should do?"
Confucius said, "Fast—I will tell you. To act with a deliberate mind—is that easy? If it were easy, even the bright Heaven would not approve."
Yan Hui said, "My family is poor—I have not drunk wine or eaten meat for several months already. Does this count as fasting?"
Confucius said, "That is the fast of sacrifice, not the fasting of the heart."
Yan Hui asked, "What is the fasting of the heart?"
Confucius said, "Unify your will. Do not listen with the ear, but listen with the mind; then go further—do not listen with the mind, but listen with the vital breath. The hearing of the ear stops at sounds; the apprehension of the mind stops at concepts. The vital breath, however, is empty and able to respond to all things. The Way collects only in emptiness. This emptiness—that is the fasting of the heart."
Yan Hui said, "Before I received this teaching, I truly felt that there was a 'self' to which I clung. After hearing the teaching of the fasting of the heart, I suddenly felt as if there were no 'self' at all. Can this be considered emptiness?"
Confucius said, "Utterly sufficient! I will tell you further: You may enter the cage of the human world and wander within it without being moved by fame. When others can hear you, speak; when they cannot, desist. Establish no doors, hold no fixed judgments (poison), focus your spirit and lodge it single-pointedly in what is unavoidable—then you will draw near to the Way. Walking without foot-wear alone is easy; making footprints while walking is hard. Being driven by human affairs makes falsity easy; being driven by Heaven makes falsity hard. Have you heard of having wherewith to fly... one flies with wings; you have never heard of flying without wings. Have you heard of understanding with knowledge laid alongside—have you heard of understanding by using knowledge—you have heard of using intelligence to attain knowledge, but not of attaining knowledge without intelligence. Look at that empty realm: when the chamber of the mind is empty and bright, light naturally is born—auspicious energy naturally dwells there. If the spirit cannot stay settled, this is called riding ahorse while seated (the body at rest while the mind charges wildly). Let the ears and eyes reach inward and exclude all intellectual construal—even ghosts and spirits will repair to you, how much less other men? This is the transformation of the myriad things—the pivot followed by the sage emperors Yu and Shun, what Fu Xi and Ji Qu practiced all their lives—how much more should we ordinary men!"
Ye Gong Zi Gao was about to set out as envoy to Qi and consulted Confucius: "The King of Chu sent me, Zhuliang, on this mission—the burden is a heavy one. As for the reception of envoys by Qi, their apparent respect is superficial and real matters are delayed. Even what is ordinary else—hown only that to a vassal lord the persuader must prove speech’s travail still harder for a vulgar man per impossidia! Indeed he is heeded a people now a lie for one breath at court few ends has fame filled from one thing must, and in many, brings not qi of out—Wesitate?" unat is written onto the quot when this all my powers true as of a virtue from whose but within na both full foul how base... [Deletion of a fragment/round of style broken]; I am exceedingly afraid.
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Now exit.
final section of Four easier :
A carpenter named Shi went to Qi, and at Quyuan he saw a sacred oak enshrined as the altar tree of the village. The canopy was vast enough to shelter several thousand oxen; its girth could not be spanned by a hundred arms; its height rose more than ten fathoms above the hill before branches began; and on a half branch set of trunks, intended enough came leave yet and enough his. Branch-sticks bent few towards lower seen.
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En?
Zhi Lishu had his chin tucked below his navel, his shoulders rising above his head, his topknot pointing toward the sky, the five viscera's acupoints turned upward, and his two thighs nearly serving as ribs. He made a living by mending clothes, washing laundry, and sifting rice for others. When the state conscripted soldiers, Zhi Lishu strolled through the crowd swinging his arms, and no one drafted him; when the state levied corvée labor, his disability excused him from service; when the state distributed relief, he still received three zhong of grain and ten bundles of firewood. If a man with a broken body can thus sustain himself and live out his full years, how much more so one whose virtue is broken (unconcerned with what the world prizes)!
Confucius went to the state of Chu, and the madman of Chu, Jie Yu, passing by Confucius's gate, sang:
"Phoenix, oh phoenix, how has virtue declined so! The age to come cannot be awaited, the age past cannot be pursued. When the world is ordered, sages accomplish great deeds; when the world is in chaos, sages preserve their lives. In this present age, merely escaping punishment is already good fortune! Happiness weighs lighter than a feather, yet no one knows how to grasp it; calamity weighs heavier than the earth, yet no one knows how to avoid it. Enough, enough! Do not conduct yourself toward others with virtue. Dangerous, dangerous! Do not rush along in a self-drawn circle to force your path. Thorns and brambles, do not wound my tracks. My road twists and turns, do not harm my feet."
The tree on the mountain brings about its own felling; grease brings about its own burning. The cinnamon tree is cut down because it is edible, and the lacquer tree is slashed because its sap is useful. Everyone knows the use of the useful, yet no one knows the use of the useless.
"The Human World" is the chapter in Zhuangzi's Inner Chapters with the most practical concern for reality, and its central question is: How can a person navigate a complex, dangerous, uncontrollable human world while preserving both life and inner freedom?
Through six dialogues and parables that advance layer by layer, the chapter reveals several key principles:
First, first preserve yourself, then preserve others. The first principle of Daoist self-cultivation: before attempting to change the world, complete your own cultivation. This is not selfishness but clarity—one who has not yet settled their own mind, plunging rashly into the complexities of the human world, will only become a sacrifice.
Second, virtue is scattered by fame, wisdom arises from contention. Once virtue is used to display oneself, it is no longer virtue; once wisdom is used to contend with others, it is no longer wisdom. When Yan Hui sought to correct the tyrant of Wei with "benevolence and righteousness," Confucius pointed out that this itself was a case of "highlighting others' evil to glorify one's own good"—using others' faults to set off one's own virtue, a hidden form of violence.
Third, the emptiness and stillness of the mind-fasting. The root of solving problems lies not in technique but in the "emptiness" of the mind. Mind-fasting (xin zhai) is not ritual abstinence but an inner state: not listening with grasping senses, not understanding through conceptual frameworks, but responding to all things with qi—a void, vital, life-perceiving awareness. When emptiness reaches its extreme, insight naturally arises (empty rooms give forth brightness), and吉祥 spontaneously comes to rest.
Fourth, accept it as fate. Zi Gao's dilemma as an envoy reveals the fundamental human condition: some things you cannot avoid (fate), some responsibilities you cannot evade (duty). True virtue (de) is not changing these but peacefully accepting at the point of "knowing it cannot be otherwise," then focusing on the matter itself, forgetting one's own gains and losses.
Fifth, adapt outwardly and harmonize inwardly. Facing unreasonable people, the Daoist strategy is not confrontation but "in form, yield; in heart, harmonize"—outwardly comply to protect oneself, inwardly remain yielding yet lucid. This is by no means collusion but holding one's ground through suppleness.
Sixth, the use of the useless. The chapter concludes with parables like the sacred oak tree, the strange tree seen by Nanbo Ziqi, and Zhi Lishu, culminating in the line: "Everyone knows the use of the useful, yet no one knows the use of the useless." Outside the logic of the utilitarian world there is another way to preserve life—by not conforming to standards of usefulness, one can instead live out one's full years.
Mind-fasting in an age of information overload 🍃
Confucius's teaching on mind-fasting is, in today's context, essentially a method of psychological reset. The modern person's problem is precisely too much "listening with the ear"—an avalanche of information, social noise, bombardment of opinions—then too complex "listening with the mind"—ceaseless analyzing, judging, taking sides. And "listening with qi" means letting consciousness stop grasping, letting the mind return to a state of emptiness, openness, and non-presupposition. In this state, genuine creativity and discernment become possible. Mind-fasting is not withdrawing from the world but "entering the cage and traveling within it without being moved by its labels"—still crossing into the world, but not dragged by the magnetic field of fame and profit.
Accepting fate in an age of anxiety 🌊
Zi Gao's anxiety is remarkably modern: the task is too heavy—he fears failure and punishment (the calamity of man), and fears success that drains him (the calamity of yin and yang). This is the dual anxiety of today's professionals. Zhuangzi's answer is "knowing it cannot be otherwise, rest in it as fate"—not passive resignation but acknowledging that some things exceed personal control, then "carrying out the reality of the matter while forgetting the self": shifting attention from "what will happen to me" to "what is the thing itself," stripping the self from the fear of outcomes. This is an eminently healthy psychological strategy.
The use of the useless in the predicament of meritocracy ⛰
Modern society is highly "useful"-oriented: learning must be useful (grades, advancement), time must be useful (efficiency, output), connections must be useful (resources, monetization). Zhuangzi says the trees that were "useful" were cut down, while the "useless" tree grew into a towering giant. The price of usefulness is being used, consumed, alienated. The use of the useless is not advocating incompetence but reminding us: one needs to reserve a space that is not instrumentalized—pure hobbies, purposeless leisure, thinking that produces no value—these "useless" dimensions are precisely the source of life's wholeness and creativity.
Do not prove yourself before others. One deep driver behind Yan Hui's going to Wei was "highlighting others' evil to glorify his own good"—confirming his own worth by correcting others. This is a psychological trap to guard against. When you strongly want to "educate" or "change" someone, ask yourself: am I truly acting for their good, or using their fault to prove I am right?
Facing unreasonable people, first "straighten your own self." Do not fantasize about changing someone who refuses to change. The only thing you can control is your own state. Rather than exhausting effort to "reform" others, act like Qu Boyu advised—adapt outwardly, harmonize inwardly: outer compliance to reduce friction, inner gentleness to preserve clarity. This is not cowardice but a higher form of self-protection.
Deliver messages without embellishment. "Convey what is routine, do not transmit exaggerated words." In human relations, the commonest error in relaying information is adding emotional filters. Deliver completely, not colored or exaggerated, and you can avoid a large majority of interpersonal disputes.
Reserve some "uselessness" for yourself. When all time becomes "useful," the spirit consumes itself like timber hewn by axes. Appropriately keep things that do not ask for results—walks, idleness, reading for pleasure, cultivating skills without practical goals—these seemingly inefficient matters will nourish your long-term vitality.
Knowing it cannot be otherwise while resting in fate is not giving up but focusing. Distinguish what you can control from what you cannot. For what cannot be controlled, accept it.; for what can, devote all effort. This is "riding things at play with the roaming mind, relying on the indispensable to nurture the center."
On the paradox of "man" and "things."
When the artisan Shi dreamed of the sacred oak, the tree said: "You and I are both things—why judge each other this way?" This is a striking statement. In the Daoist view, humanity's self-elevation above the ten thousand things as the subject, measuring everything by "usefulness or not," is in itself an usurpation. Humans fabricate a standard of value (useful = good, useless = bad), then use that standard to beat the world into shape—and thereby beat themselves as well. Zhuangzi's depth lies in seeing that the entire logic of "usefulness" is itself a form of violence—against trees cut down, people conscripted, bodies disciplined—all the same logic. The wisdom of the useless is the first breath of stepping outside that logic.
On the epistemological significance of "emptiness."
The core of mind-fasting is "emptiness in awaiting things." This poses a profoundly philosophical proposition: true cognition requires first emptying one's acquired bias. Zhuangzi does not deny knowledge but points to its trap—when we look at the world laden with preconceived conceptual frameworks, we often see only our own projections. Emptiness is not a vacancy but a cognitive state higher than ordinary knowing: "I have heard of those who know through having knowledge, but not of those who know through no-knowledge." The knowing of not-knowing is more radical than the knowing of knowledge.
On the philosophical structure of "fate" and "duty."
Confucius's "the great restraints of the world are two" lends an existential structure to human relations: fate is non-choosable (parent-child); duty is inescapable (ruler-subject/social responsibility). Within this structure the individual has no absolute freedom, yet Zhuangzi's freedom is precisely born here—true freedom is not doing whatever one wishes, but within unbreachable structures, changing one's own attitude and state of mind and finding a space to "roam." "Ride things to roam the mind"; the mind can traverse the necessity while preserving its own freedom.
On the "usefulness of the useless" and value pluralism.
"People know the use of the useful, but no one knows the use of the useless." This sentence overturns value monism. The mundane world measures everything by instrumental worth, but instrumental worth exhausts a being's inherent existence. The sacred oak's "uselessness," seen from the tree's own standpoint, is precisely its greatest "usefulness"—the continuation of life is the ultimate good. This is not sophistry but a reminder: every existence has intrinsic value that should not be hijacked by external utilitarian standards. This philosophy echoes with great resonance in today's environmental philosophy, philosophy of education, and bioethics.
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This content is based on Daoist classics, intended for the learning and life-reference of traditional culture without constituting religious, medical, or investment advice.