Zhuangzi

Modern-day analog: Historic Hao River where Zhuangzi and Huizi debated the joy of fish, Fengyang, Anhui

The Joy of the Fish: The Great Philosophical Debate on Empathy

On the Hao River bridge he watched darting fish: 'How the silver fish swim at ease—that is the joy of fish!' When Hui Shi challenged his logic, Zhuangzi answered with poetic empathy—the immortal Hao dialogue.

Parting from Hui Shi, he went north to the Pu River to fish and ponder what to accept or refuse.

“The minnows swim out so freely and leisurely; this is the true joy of fish.”

鯈鱼出游从容，是鱼之乐也。(Tiáo yú chū yóu cóng róng, shì yú zhī lè yě.)

Modern-day analog: Tranquil riverbank where Zhuangzi refused prime ministership to live with pure autonomy, Henan

Dragging One's Tail in the Mud: Refusing the Throne for Freedom

While fishing on the Pu, envoys from Chu offered him the chancellorship. Without turning, Zhuangzi replied: 'Go! I shall drag my tail in the mud.' Better a living turtle in the silt than dead bones in a temple chest.

Shunning princely offers, he lived simply near Wanqiu in Chen, weaving sandals in honest poverty.

“Begone! I would rather drag my tail in the mud and live free.”

往矣！吾将曳尾于涂中。(Wǎng yǐ! Wú jiāng yè wěi yú tú zhōng.)

Modern-day analog: Ancient state of Chen where Zhuangzi debated with rulers, Henan

The Sacrificial Ox: Seeing through the Gilded Cage of Power

When riches came again, he compared high office to a sacrificial ox dressed for the altar. 'The friendship of the noble is plain as water; that of the petty is sweet as new wine,' he held, keeping his spirit free.

Years later he returned to Meng, where life would test him with love, death, and parting.

“The friendship of a true gentleperson is plain as water; the association of shallow individuals is sweet as fermented wine.”

君子之交淡若水，小人之交甘若醴。(Jūn zǐ zhī jiāo dàn ruò shuǐ, xiǎo rén zhī jiāo gān ruò lǐ.)

Modern-day analog: Home town of the Song State, modern Shangqiu, Henan

Singing over the Clay Tub: Transcending Mortality and Grief

When his wife died, Hui Shi found him drumming a basin and singing. 'Life and death are fate, like night and day—Heaven's constant,' Zhuangzi said; she had returned to the great transformation.

Having seen through life and death, he dreamed one moonlit night a thought that would unsettle subject and object forever.

“Life and death are destiny; they have the constancy of night and day—they are the natural order of heaven.”

死生，命也，其有夜旦之常，天也。(Sǐ shēng, mìng yě, qí yǒu yè dàn zhī cháng, tiān yě.)

Modern-day analog: Home town of the Song State, modern Shangqiu, Henan

The Butterfly Dream: Was Zhuangzi Dreaming, or the Butterfly?

He dreamed he was a butterfly, vividly unaware of Zhuang Zhou. Awake, he wondered: 'Was Zhou dreaming of a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of Zhou?... This is called the Transformation of Things.'

Mind unbound, he wrote Carefree Wandering—the most cosmic opening in Chinese philosophy.

“I did not know whether Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, or the butterfly dreamed it was Zhou. Between Zhou and the butterfly there must be some distinction. This is what is called the Transformation of Things.”

不知周之梦为蝴蝶与？蝴蝶之梦为周与？周与蝴蝶，则必有分矣。此之谓物化。(Bù zhī Zhōu zhī mèng wéi hú dié yǔ? Hú dié zhī mèng wéi Zhōu yǔ? Zhōu yǔ hú dié, zé bì yǒu fēn yǐ. Cǐ zhī wèi wù huà.)

Modern-day analog: Home town of the Song State, modern Shangqiu, Henan

Wings Spanning the Heavens: The Flight of the Great Roc

Carefree Wandering opens: 'In the Northern Darkness there is a fish named Kun, so huge one knows not how many thousand li; it transforms into a bird named Peng.' He calls humanity to ride Heaven and Earth in true freedom.

Near life's end in his homeland, he left disciples one last teaching on how to meet death.

“In the Northern Darkness there is a fish, named Kun. The Kun is so vast, none knows how many thousand leagues across; it transforms into a bird, named Peng.”

北冥有鱼，其名为鲲。鲲之大，不知其几千里也；化而为鸟，其名为鹏。(Běi míng yǒu yú, qí míng wéi kūn. Kūn zhī dà, bù zhī qí jǐ qiān lǐ yě; huà ér wéi niǎo, qí míng wéi péng.)

Modern-day analog: Home town of the Song State, modern Shangqiu, Henan

Heaven and Earth as Coffin: Merging into the Infinite Universe

When disciples planned a rich burial, he smiled: let Heaven and Earth be the coffin, sun and moon the jade disks. 'Alone he moves with the spirit of Heaven and Earth, without scorning the myriad things'—his philosophy remains a refuge for anxious minds.

“Alone, communing in spirit with heaven and earth, yet without looking down in arrogance upon any of the ten thousand things.”

独与天地精神往来，而不敖倪于万物。(Dú yǔ tiān dì jīng shén wǎng lái, ér bù áo ní yú wàn wù.)