ChineseStudy

Wandering Freely

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In the Northern Darkness there is a fish; its name is Kun. The greatness of Kun—no one knows how many thousand li it is. It transforms and becomes a bird; its name is Peng. The back of Peng—no one knows how many thousand li it is. Roused, it flies; its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky. This bird, when the sea moves, will migrate to the Southern Darkness. The Southern Darkness is the Pool of Heaven.

The Qi Xie is a record of strange things. The words of the Xie say: “When Peng migrates to the Southern Darkness, it beats the water for three thousand li, spirals up on the whirlwind to ninety thousand li, and departs by means of the sixth month’s breath.”

The wild-horse mists, the dust—these mists and motes arise as living things breathe upon one another. The deep blue of the sky—is it its true color? Or is it far and has no limit? When the great Peng looks down from above, it sees just this and no more.

Moreover, if water does not accumulate deeply, then it has no strength to bear a large boat. Spill a cup of water on a hollow in the hall, and a mustard seed can serve as a boat. Place a cup there and it sticks fast, because the water is shallow and the boat is large. If wind does not accumulate deeply, then it has no strength to bear large wings.

Thus, when it is ninety thousand li high, the wind lies beneath it; only then does it ride the wind. Carrying the blue sky on its back and with nothing obstructing it, only then does it plan to go south.

The cicada and the dove laughed at it, saying, 'I start up with a burst and fly, stopping when I reach the elm or sandalwood; if I sometimes fail to reach it, I just drop to the ground. Why should one go ninety thousand li and then head south?'

One who goes to the wild green countryside takes provisions for three meals and returns, his belly still full; one who goes a hundred li prepares grain overnight; one who goes a thousand li gathers provisions for three months. What do these two little creatures know?

Small knowledge cannot match great knowledge; a short lifespan cannot match a long lifespan. How do we know this is so? The morning mushroom does not know the last and first days of the lunar month; the huigu cicada does not know spring and autumn—this is a short lifespan. South of Chu there is the Mingling, which takes five hundred years as spring and five hundred years as autumn; in high antiquity there is the Great Chun, which takes eight thousand years as spring and eight thousand years as autumn.

Yet Peng Zu alone is today famed for his long life; the multitude measures itself against him—is this not lamentable?

Tang's questioning of Ji was also like this.

North of the barren wastes there is a dark sea—the Pool of Heaven. In it is a fish, several thousand li wide; no one knows 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 upward on the whirling wind and the ram's-horn gust, rising ninety thousand li; it cuts through the cloud vapors, bears the blue sky on its back, then plans to go south, about to journey to the Southern Dark Sea.

Chiyan, the little marsh quail, laughed at it, saying, “Where is that one going? I spring up and leap; after no more than a few ren I come down, wheeling among the fleabane and mugwort. This too is the utmost of flying—so where is that one going?”

This is the distinction between the small and the great.

Therefore, those whose understanding is sufficient for one office, whose conduct is fitting for one village, whose virtue suits one ruler, and whose ability wins the trust of one state—their view of themselves is likewise like this. Yet Song Rongzi laughed at them. Moreover, though the whole world praised him, he was not spurred on more; though the whole world blamed him, he was not discouraged more. He had settled the division between inner and outer and discerned the boundary of honor and disgrace—that was all. In relation to the world, he was not eagerly bustling.

Even so, there was still something he had not yet established.

Liezi rode the wind and traveled, light and graceful—it was excellent. Only after fifteen days did he return. As for procuring blessings, he was not one to busy himself over them. Though this freed him from walking, he still had something on which to depend.

As for one who follows the natural course of heaven and earth, rides the changes of the six qi, and wanders without limit, what would that person still depend on? Thus it is said: the perfected person is not bound by self, the spirit-like person claims no merit, and the sage does not seek fame.

Yao wished to yield the world to Xu You, saying: “The sun and moon have come out, yet the torch fire does not go out—is it not hard for it in regard to light! The seasonal rain has fallen, yet one still soaks and irrigates—is it not laborious for it in regard to moistening! If you, Master, were established, the world would be governed, and yet I still preside over it like a corpse. I look upon myself as deficient. I beg to hand over the world to you.”

Xu You said: “You govern the world, and the world is already governed. Yet if I were still to replace you, would I be doing it for fame? Fame is the guest of reality; would I be a guest? The wren nests in the deep forest, but uses no more than one branch; the mole drinks from the river, but takes no more than a full belly. Go back and rest, my lord! I have no use for the world! Though the cook does not manage the kitchen, the invocator and priest do not cross over the cups and stands to replace him.”

Jianwu asked Lianshu, saying: 'I heard words from Jieyu: grand but impractical, going on and on and never turning back. I am frightened by his words, like the Milky Way, without limit, greatly divergent, and not close to human feeling.'

Lianshu said: 'What did his words say?'

He said: 'On the distant Mount Gushe, there is a spirit-person dwelling. Skin like ice and snow, graceful as a maiden; he does not eat the five grains, inhales wind and drinks dew; he rides cloud vapors, drives flying dragons, and roams beyond the four seas. His spirit concentrates, causing things not to suffer disease and pestilence, and the yearly grain to ripen.'

'I therefore regard this as crazy and do not believe it.'

Lian Shu said, 'Yes. The blind cannot share in the spectacle of patterns and colors, and the deaf cannot share in the sound of bells and drums. Is it only the body that has blindness and deafness? Understanding also has them. These words are meant for you. That man, that virtue, will embrace all things and make them one. The world begs him to bring order—who would toil and fret over making the world his business?'

Such a man—no thing can harm him. A great flood that reaches the sky cannot drown him; a great drought that melts metal and stone and scorches earthen hills cannot make him hot. Even the dust and chaff from him would still mold and cast Yao and Shun; who would be willing to take things as his business!

A man of Song brought ceremonial caps to Yue to sell, but the people of Yue cut their hair short and tattooed their bodies, so the caps were of no use to them.

Yao governed the people of the world and brought order to the government within the seas. He went to see the four masters on distant Mount Gushe, north of the Fen River, and in a daze forgot all about his realm.

Huizi said to Zhuangzi, 'The King of Wei gave me seeds of a large gourd. I planted them, and when they had grown, the fruit had a capacity of five dan. When used to hold water or broth, its strength was not enough to bear its own weight, so it could not be lifted. When split to make a ladle, it was so broad and flat that it could hold nothing. It was not that it was not huge; I smashed it because it was useless.'

Zhuangzi said, 'You, sir, are certainly inept at using what is large. There was a man of Song who was good at making a medicine that kept hands from chapping; for generations his family made its living by bleaching silk. A traveler heard of it and asked to buy his formula for a hundred pieces of gold. The man gathered his clan to deliberate, saying, 'For generations we have bleached silk, and earned no more than a few pieces of gold. Now in one morning we can sell the technique for a hundred pieces of gold; let us give it to him.''

The visitor obtained it and used it to persuade the King of Wu. Yue had trouble, and the King of Wu made him a general. In winter he fought a water battle with the men of Yue and greatly defeated them; the king divided land and enfeoffed him. The ability to keep hands from chapping was the same; in one case it brought a fief, in another it did not save one from bleaching silk—this was the difference in what it was used for. Now you have a gourd with a capacity of five dan. Why not consider making it into a great vessel and float on the rivers and lakes, instead of worrying that it is flat and broad and can contain nothing?

Then you, sir, still have a heart like tangled fleabane!

Huizi said to Zhuangzi, “I have a big tree that people call the chu. Its trunk is swollen and gnarled, so it does not fit the carpenter's ink line; its smaller branches are twisted and crooked, so they do not fit the compass and square. It stands by the road, and carpenters do not look at it. Now your words are big but useless; they are what everyone alike rejects.”

Zhuangzi said, “Have you never seen the wildcat and the weasel? They lower their bodies and crouch down to wait for creatures that roam; they leap and bound east and west, not avoiding high or low; they are caught in snares and die in nets. Now the yak is as big as clouds hanging from the sky. It can be great, but it cannot catch a mouse.”

Now you have a big tree and worry that it is useless; why not plant it in the land of nothing whatsoever, in the broad and empty wilds, wander beside it doing nothing, and lie down beneath it free and at ease? It will not be cut short by axes; nothing will harm it. Having no use, how could it be troubled?

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