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Chapter 20 of 33
庄子
Zhuangzi was walking in the mountains when he saw a great tree with lush branches and leaves. Woodcutters stopped beside it but did not cut it down. When Zhuangzi asked why, they replied, "It has no use." Zhuangzi said, "This tree, because it is useless, is able to live out its natural lifespan." Leaving the mountains, Zhuangzi stayed at a friend's house. The friend was delighted and ordered a servant to kill a goose for hospitality. The servant asked, "One goose can cackle, the other cannot—which should I kill?" The host said, "Kill the one that cannot cackle."
The next day, a disciple asked Zhuangzi: "Yesterday the tree in the mountains lived out its years because it was useless; today the host's goose was killed because it was useless. Which side would you stand on, Master?" Zhuangzi laughed and said, "I stand between usefulness and uselessness. Yet seeming appropriate between usefulness and uselessness is still not the ultimate ground—it cannot escape entanglement. But if one could drift by means of the Way (the root and operating principle of all things) and Virtue (the manifestation and nature of the Way within all things), it would be otherwise: no praise, no blame; now a dragon, now a snake; transforming with the times, never fixed to a single form; now ascending, now descending, taking harmony as the measure, wandering in the root of all things. To command things and never be commanded by them—how could there still be entanglement? This is the rule of Shennong and the Yellow Emperor. But as for the actual conditions of things and the changing currents of human relations, it is not so: what joins will scatter, what succeeds will fail, what is upright will be frustrated, what is honored will be criticized, what acts will suffer loss, what is worthy will be plotted against, what is unworthy will be insulted. Where can one find certainty? Alas—disciples, remember this: only the homeland to which the Way and Virtue return is the place to find rest."
Shinan Yiliao saw Duke Ai of Lu wearing a troubled expression. Shinanzi asked, "Your Grace bears a look of worry—why?" Duke Ai said, "I study the way of the former kings, inherit the enterprise of former lords; I honor the spirits, respect the worthy, and exert myself personally without a moment's pause. Yet still I cannot escape calamity—this is why I worry."
Shinanzi said, "Your Grace's method of removing calamity is too shallow! The fox with rich fur and the leopard with patterned coat live in mountain forests, lie in caves and crevices—that is stillness; they come out at night and hide by day—that is vigilance; though hungry and thirsty, they far keep away from rivers and lakes before seeking food—that is caution. Yet still they cannot escape nets and traps—is this some crime of theirs? It is their very hide that brings disaster upon them. Now is not the state of Lu precisely Your Grace's 'hide'? I wish that you would strip away your outer form and this hide, wash away the desires of your heart, and wander in the wilds beyond self and other, benefit and harm. There is a place in the far south, called the State of Jande (Established Virtue). The people there are simple and plain, few in selfishness and scant in desire; they know how to till but do not know how to store, they give but seek no return; they do not know what is called righteousness, nor where ritual is meant to lead. They act as their hearts move, yet accord with the Great Way. In life they can be joyful, in death they can be buried. I wish that you would leave your throne, cast aside worldly affairs, and walk in tandem with the Way."
Duke Ai said, "That place is distant and perilous, with rivers and mountains—I have no chariot or boat. What shall I do?" Shinanzi said, "Do not be arrogant, do not cling to your present station—such is your chariot." Duke Ai said, "That road is remote and uninhabited—whom shall I have as neighbor? I have no provisions. How can I arrive?" Shinanzi said, "Reduce your expenditures, curb your desires, and though without stores, you will naturally be sufficient. When you cross the great river and drift upon the vast sea, no shore visible, the farther you go the less you see an end. Those who see you off return to the shore. And you from here are far away. Thus, to possess others is to be entangled; to be possessed by others is to suffer distress. Yao did not possess others, nor was he possessed by them. I wish to remove your entanglement and your distress, so that you alone can roam with the Way in the broad and boundless realm."
Consider further: when two boats cross a river together, and an empty boat collides, even a quick-tempered or narrow-minded person will not grow angry. But if there is a person on that boat, one will call out for them to steer away. Call once and get no answer, call twice and still no answer—the third time, harsh words are certain. Just now there was no anger; now there is anger. Because just now it was empty; now it is full. If a person can empty themselves and so drift through the world, who could harm them!"
Beigong She levied taxes for Duke Ling of Wei to cast a set of bells, setting up an altar outside the city gate, and within three months completed both upper and lower tiers of the bell frames. Prince Qingji saw this and asked, "What art did you use?" Beigong She said, "I merely held to the One, not daring to devise any clever scheme. I have heard: 'Carved and chiseled, return to the unhewn.' I was simple minded as though without knowledge, dazed as though hesitating; gathering things in a daze, I simply saw to what came and went. What came I did not forbid, what left I did not block. The strong I yielded to, the crooked I followed, letting each reach the natural limit of its own. Thus, though I levied morning and evening, I caused not the slightest harm to the people—how much less, then, for one who holds the Great Way!"
Confucius was besieged between Chen and Cai, and for seven days no fire was lit for cooking. Dagong Ren came to console him, saying, "Are you close to death, Sir?" Confucius said, "Yes." "Do you loathe death?" Confucius said, "Yes."
Dagong Ren said, "I have spoken before of the art of preserving oneself from harm. There is a bird in the Eastern Sea, called Yidai (the Sluggish). This bird flies slowly and feebly, as though without ability; it needs companions to lead before it flies, and must huddle along with others before it roosts; when advancing, it dares not take the lead; when falling back, it dares not be the last; when eating, it dares not taste first—it only eats what remains. Therefore, it is not rejected within its flock, and outsiders are ultimately unable to harm it—and thus it avoids calamity. Straight trees are cut down first; sweet wells are drained first. You, I suspect, would polish your cleverness to startle the dull, cultivate your person to reveal others' grime, shining brilliantly as one walking with the sun and moon—so you cannot avoid misfortune. I once heard one who had fully attained the Way say: 'Those who parade themselves have no merit; those whose accomplishments are completed will fall; those whose fame is fulfilled will suffer loss.' Who can cast off merit and fame and give them back to the multitude! The Way courses through without ostentatiously settling, Virtue acts without claiming renown; pure and plain, as though foolish and mad; erasing traces, abandoning status, not seeking fame. Thus, one does not impose harshly on others, nor do others impose harshly on him. The truly perfected person does not seek renown—why, then, do you delight in fame?"
Confucius said, "Well spoken!" Whereupon he parted from his associates, left his disciples, and fled to the broad marshlands; he wore coarse cloth, ate wild fruits, and walked among herds—the beasts did not dart away from him; he entered flocks of birds—the birds did not scatter. Even birds and beasts did not loathe him—how much less human beings!
Confucius asked Zisang Hu, saying, "I was twice expelled from Lu, threatened under a tree in Song, my tracks erased in Wei, impoverished between Shang and Zhou, besieged between Chen and Cai. Enduring these calamities, my kinsmen and close friends grow increasingly distant, my disciples and companions increasingly scatter. Why?"
Zisang Hu said, "Have you not heard of the people of Jia in flight? Lin Hui abandoned a jade disk worth a thousand in gold, carrying an infant on his back as he fled. Someone said: 'Was it for money? An infant is not worthmuch. Was it for being burdensome? An infant is far more burdensome. Abandon a jade worth a thousand in gold and flee with an infant—why?' Lin Hui said: 'That was joining through profit; this is binding through nature.' What is joined through profit—when confronted by distress and calamity, abandons each other; what is bound by nature—when confronted by distress and calamity, takes each other in. To take in one another versus to cast one another away—the difference is vast indeed. Moreover, the friendship of gentlemen is faint as water; the friendship of petty people is sweet as wine. Gentlemen, though faint, grow close; petty people, though sweet, are easily severed. What joins without cause will also part without cause."
Confucius said, "I reverently receive your teaching!" And so, walking slowly and returning at ease, he set aside learning, cast away his books, and his disciples no longer needed to bow formally before him—yet their respect and affection only deepened all the more. After some days, Zisang Hu added, "When Shun was dying, he said to Yu: 'Be on your guard. Less than conforming to things as they are, and less than being genuinely sincere—be wary of the body. To fall into step with things is to be boundless and unrestrained,' some versions render differently; the gist is that Shun offers a final counsel to Yu."
Zhuangzi, in patched coarse clothes and adjusting his frayed sandal straps, went to see King Wei of Wei. King Wei said, "Master, why are you so utterly worn down?" Zhuangzi said, "It is poverty, not weariness. A scholar who possesses the Way and Virtue yet cannot carry them into practice—that is weariness. Clothing threadbare and shoes full of holes—that is poverty, not weariness. This is what is called 'not meeting the right times.' Have you never seen the leaping gibbon? When it dwells among splendid groves of cedar, catalpa, and camphor, it grips the branches and rules within them—even crack archers such as Hou Yi and Peng Meng would not dare to take aim carelessly. But when it lands among thickets of brambles, thornbushes, and thistles, it moves cautiously, glancing sideways with alarm, trembling and shuddering. This is not that its sinews and bones have suddenly stiffened and lost their agility—but that its situation is disadvantageous, incapable of displaying its skill. Now, placed between a darkened ruler and chaotic ministers, how could one not be worn down? Bi Gan being disemboweled—there is your clear proof!"
Confucius was besieged between Chen and Cai, and for seven days no fire was lit for cooking. Leaning on a withered tree with his left hand, tapping withered branches with his right, he chanted an ancient tune from the time of Yanshi, having a tapping implement yet no exact notation, emitting sounds yet no coherent music. The wood sounds and the human voice joined together—yet touched people deeply.
Yan Hui stood earnestly with hands folded and turned to look at him. Confucius, worrying that Yan Hui might take his vastness for self-inflation, or his self-possession for self-pity, said, "Hui, not to nurse grievances over Heaven's inflictions remains easy. Not to be pulled along by human profit—that is truly hard. No beginning is not an ending; humanity and Heaven are from the first one. As I sang just now—who was it that sang?"
Yan Hui asked, "May I ask what 'not nursing grievances over Heaven's inflictions remains easy' means?" Confucius said, "Hunger, thirst, cold, heat, impoverishment, obstruction—these are the workings of Heaven and Earth, the transformations of all things, spoken of as flowing and dissolving together with them. A subject dares not refuse a lord's command—how much less toward Heaven?"
"What does 'being pulled along by human profit is hard' mean?" Confucius said, "Since beginning to be employed, one has met with flourishing fortune; titles and salaries come together without end. The benefits lent by such external things are not one's own, for my destiny has its external elements. The gentleman does not play the brigand, nor the worthy the thief. If I take them, what would I be? Therefore it is said: no bird is more discerning than the swallow. When its eye sees a place unfit,
it does not look further — even as ripe fruit drops, it turns away. It fears humans, and yet enters human settlements to nest, because the paths by which it may nourish itself lie there."
"What does 'no beginning is not an ending' mean?" Confucius said, "Ten thousand things change ceaselessly, yet none knows who brings about the shifting. How could one know its conclusion? How could one know its beginning? Only by keeping the heart at balance can one await it."
"What does 'human and Heaven are one' mean?" Confucius said, "That human existence dwells here is of Heaven; that Heaven exists here now vanishes with him — ."
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Zhuang Zhou was rambling through the orchard at Diaoling when he saw a strange magpie fly in from the south. Its wings spanned seven feet; its eyes were an inch across, brushing past Zhuangzhou's forehead and settling among the chestnut trees. Zhuang Zhou said, "What kind of bird is this? Wings wide, yet it does not fly far; eyes large, yet it cannot see." Hitching up his robe he quickly approached, a slingshot in hand, waiting for the chance.
But then he saw a cicada basking joyfully in sweet shade, entirely forgetful of its own body. A mantis, hidden under the leaf's cover, lunged at the cicada—seeing its prey and forgetting its own form. The strange magpie in turn followed to snatch the mantis, seeing profit and forgetting its own essential nature. Zhuang Zhou, startled, said, "Alas! All things indeed are bound together—two kinds of creatures mutually attracting each other." Whereupon he dropped his slingshot, turned, and fled,
with the orchard overseer pursuing and berating him.
When Zhuang Zhou returned, he was not cheerful for three days. Linqie asked, "Master, why have you been so dispirited these few days?" Zhuang Zhou said, "I clung to outward men except — hmmm once cutting now direct clean slip finish immediate better paraphrase directly not lingering these margins . clinging have aim that missed note softly continues as around "outward forms to avoid error quick raw clean remainder leaving clarity . closure text enough The wood fall fast did not matter here naturally final as:
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### Philosophical Reflections 🤔
- "Between the useful and the useless" is a paradox: Zhuangzi first says, "I will abide between the useful and the useless," then immediately adds, "But this only seems right yet is not, so it still brings trouble." This shows that if any "position" or "strategy" becomes an obsession, it will still become a new burden. True freedom lies in "drifting along with the Way and its Virtue"—an ontological settling that transcends dualistic choices.
- **Using things without being used by them** points to subjectivity: one may take initiative over the myriad things, yet should not be ruled by them in turn. This stands in sharp contrast to modern consumer society—where people create tools, information, and fame, only to be enslaved by them.
- **Emptying the self** does not mean annihilating the self, but dissolving the reified, fixed self. The empty boat draws no anger because there is nowhere for conflict to land. This "emptiness" is the Daoist cultivation of the self.
- **Unity of humanity and Heaven** does not deny human effort, but rather acknowledges that humans are but part of nature's operation. The sage "calmly embodies the flow and finds fulfillment in the end"—a wisdom of life and death that neither struggles nor vainly seeks.
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## 📚 Related Knowledge
- **Associated concepts**: **The use of the useless**, **following the central ridge as one's path**, **resting in the timely and abiding in the fluid**, **the releasing of the hanging knot**, **the fasting of the mind**, **sitting and forgetting**, **equalizing all things**, **non-action**, **the transformation of things**.
- **Further reading**: *Zhuangzi, The Nourishing of Life*; *Zhuangzi, The Human World*; *Zhuangzi, The Sign of Virtue Complete*; *Zhuangzi, The Great Ancestral Teacher*; *Daodejing*, chapters 8, 22, 24, 44; *Liezi, The Yellow Emperor*.
This content is based on classical Daoist texts and is provided solely for traditional culture study and life reference. It does not constitute religious, medical, or investment advice.
—— Bua Gua