The Happy Excursion (Chapter 1)
In the Northern Ocean there is a fish, whose name is Kun. The size of Kun is immense, stretching for who knows how many thousand li. It transforms into a bird, whose name is Peng. The back of Peng stretches for who knows how many thousand li. When it rouses itself and flies, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky. This bird, when the sea is stirred and the wind rises, migrates to the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is the Heavenly Pool.
The Qixie is a record of strange things. Its words say: “When Peng migrates to the Southern Ocean, it strikes the water for three thousand li, then spirals up on a whirlwind to a height of ninety thousand li, and departs relying on the wind of the sixth month.” The wild-horse-like vapors, the flying dust—all are creatures blowing their breath at one another. The sky is deep and blue—is that its true color? Or is it because it is so far and boundless that no end can be seen? When Peng looks down, it is just the same.
Moreover, if water is not accumulated deeply, it lacks the strength to bear a large boat. If you pour a cup of water into a hollow in the hall, a mustard seed can serve as a boat; but if you place a cup on it, it will stick—this is because the water is shallow and the boat is large. If wind is not accumulated thickly, it lacks the strength to bear great wings. Thus, when Peng rises to a height of ninety thousand li, the wind is beneath it; then, relying on the wind, it carries the blue sky on its back and nothing can hinder it, and only then does it set off for the south.
The cicada and the dove laughed at Peng, saying: “I rise up in a sudden burst, fly to the elm or the rosewood, and stop; sometimes I don’t reach it and just fall back to the ground. Why go up ninety thousand li and then head south?” He who goes to the countryside takes three meals and returns with his belly still full; he who goes a hundred li pounds grain overnight; he who goes a thousand li stores up grain for three months. What do these two little creatures know!
Little wisdom cannot compare to great wisdom; short life cannot compare to long life. How is this known? The morning mushroom knows nothing of the beginning and end of a month; the cicada knows nothing of spring and autumn—these are short lives. In the south of Chu there is a tree called mingling, which takes five hundred years as a spring and five hundred years as an autumn; in high antiquity there was a tree called dachun, which takes eight thousand years as a spring and eight thousand years as an autumn. Yet Pengzu is now especially famous for his long life, and the masses try to compare themselves with him—is this not pitiful!
Tang asked Ji, and the same was said. In the barren north, there is a deep and vast sea—the Heavenly Pool. There is a fish there, whose width is several thousand li, and none know its length; its name is Kun. There is a bird there, whose name is Peng; its back is like Mount Tai, its wings like clouds hanging from the sky. It spirals up on a whirlwind to a height of ninety thousand li, piercing through the clouds and carrying the blue sky on its back, then heads south, about to reach the Southern Ocean. The quail laughed at it, saying: “Where is it going? I leap and fly up, but after a few ren I come down, flitting among the mugwort and weeds—this is the ultimate in flying. And where is it going?” This is the difference between the small and the great.
Thus, those whose wisdom qualifies them for an office, whose conduct benefits one village, whose virtue pleases a ruler, whose ability wins the trust of a state—they regard themselves in the same way. Song Rongzi laughed at them. Moreover, if the whole world praised him, he would not be more diligent; if the whole world criticized him, he would not be more dejected. He distinguished the boundary between self and external things, and the limits of glory and disgrace—that was all. As for the world, he was not urgently seeking anything. Even so, he had still not established himself at the highest level. Liezi rode the wind and went, airy and graceful, returning after fifteen days. As for the matter of seeking blessings, he was not urgently seeking anything. Thus, although he avoided walking, he still had something to rely on. As for one who accords with the natural way of Heaven and Earth, masters the changes of the six vital forces, and roams in the boundless realm—what would he have to rely on! Therefore it is said: The perfect person has no self; the spirit person has no achievement; the sage has no name.
Yao wanted to yield the world to Xu You, saying: “When the sun and moon have come out, if a torch does not go out, is it not difficult for it to show its light? When the timely rain has fallen, if one still irrigates by human effort, is it not too laborious for moistening the crops? If you, Master, took the throne, the world would be at peace, yet I still occupy this seat. I feel my inadequacy; please allow me to hand the world over to you.”
Xu You said: “You govern the world, and the world is already well ordered. If I were to take your place, would I do it for the sake of fame? Fame is the guest of substance—would I be the guest? The wren nests in the deep forest, but only occupies one branch; the mole drinks from the river, but only fills its belly. Go back, my lord! The world is of no use to me. Even if the cook does not cook, the priest will not leap over the wine vat and replace him.”
Jian Wu asked Lian Shu: “I heard some words from Jie Yu, which were grand and impractical, and once spoken could not be taken back. I was astonished by his words, boundless as the Milky Way; they were far from common sense and contrary to human experience.”
Lian Shu said: “What did he say?”
Jian Wu said: “On the distant Guye Mountain, there dwells a spirit person. His skin is like ice and snow; his form is like a virgin; he does not eat the five grains, but sucks the wind and drinks the dew; he rides on clouds, drives flying dragons, and roams beyond the four seas. When his spirit is concentrated, it can prevent harm to all things and make the grain ripen every year. I consider this wild talk and do not believe it.”
Lian Shu said: “Indeed, a blind man cannot appreciate the splendor of patterns; a deaf man cannot hear the sound of bells and drums. Is it only the body that has blindness and deafness? The understanding has them too. These words apply to you. That spirit person, his virtue will embrace all things and unite them into one. The world expects him to govern it—why would he laboriously take governing the world as his own affair? That spirit person, nothing can harm him; flooding waters rising to the sky cannot drown him; great droughts that melt metal and stone and scorch the earth and mountains cannot heat him. Even his dust and chaff could create Yao and Shun—why would he bother with worldly affairs?”
The people of Song bought ceremonial caps and took them to Yue to sell; but the people of Yue cut their hair short and tattooed their bodies, having no use for them. Yao governed the people of the world and brought peace to the affairs within the seas; he went to the distant Guye Mountain and the north bank of the Fen River to visit the four perfected ones, and in a daze he forgot his world.
Huizi said to Zhuangzi: “The King of Wei gave me a gourd seed from a large gourd. I planted it, and when it fruited, the gourd could hold five piculs. I used it to hold water, but it was too weak to bear its own weight. I cut it in half to make ladles, but they were too flat to hold anything. Not that it was not big—I smashed it because it was useless.”
Zhuangzi said: “Master, you are indeed clumsy at using large things. There was a man of Song who was good at making a salve that prevented chapped hands; for generations his family made their living by bleaching silk floss. A stranger heard of it and offered a hundred gold pieces for the prescription. The man gathered his family and discussed it: ‘For generations we have bleached silk, earning only a few gold pieces; now if we sell the prescription, we can get a hundred gold pieces in one day—please let me sell it.’ The stranger got the prescription and went to speak with the King of Wu. When Yue invaded, the King of Wu put him in command of the army. In winter, they fought a naval battle with the people of Yue, and he greatly defeated them. The King then enfeoffed him with land. The same salve for chapped hands—some used it to gain a fief, while others could not escape bleaching silk—this is because of different uses. Now you have a gourd of five-picul capacity—why not consider making it into a large wine barrel and float on the rivers and lakes, instead of worrying that it was too flat to hold anything? Then, Master, your mind is still blocked like a tangled weed!”
Hui Shi said to Zhuangzi, “I have a large tree, which people call the chū. Its trunk is gnarled and does not conform to the plumb line; its branches are twisted and do not conform to the carpenter’s square. It grows by the roadside, yet no carpenter so much as glances at it. Now your words, great but useless, are likewise rejected by everyone.”
Zhuangzi said, “Have you never seen a wildcat or a weasel? They crouch low, waiting for small animals to come out; they leap about, ignoring heights and lows, only to fall into traps and die in nets. Look at the lì ox—it is as huge as a cloud hanging from the sky. This is truly great, yet it cannot catch mice. Now you have a large tree and worry that it is useless. Why not plant it in the land of nothingness, in the vast wilderness, wander idly beside it, and lie down in freedom beneath it? It will not suffer the axe’s blow, and nothing can harm it. Because it is of no use, what hardship could there be?”