Reading Notes? Shen Yu Luo Yan

Read a few sentences in "Zhuangzi - The Theory of Equality of Things": "Mao Qiang and Li Ji, the beauty of people is that fish see it deeply, birds see it soar high, and elk see it suddenly. The four are Are you familiar with the beauty of the world?"

Mao Qiang and Li Ji were both stunning beauties in ancient times. People thought they were great beauties. When they saw them, they would be unable to walk, and they would watch and ogling them. Drooling. But when the fish saw them, they were so frightened that they dived to the bottom of the water. When the birds saw them coming, they flew up in fright, and when the elk encountered them, they panicked and ran away. People, fish, birds and elk, who really understands the beauty of these four?

Zhuangzi discusses the difference and unity of all things in "Equality of Things". In the above example, beauty definitely exists, but because humans, fish, birds and elk are not the same kind, the standards of beauty are different. Everyone has their own standards of beauty.

I won’t talk about Zhuangzi’s “Equality of Things” here, but just talk about why people always misunderstand animals. A word we often use to describe beautiful women is "sinking fish and falling geese". From this point of view, sinking fish is not a fish that is shy, but a fish. When a fish sees a beauty, it dives to the bottom of the water because it is afraid that the beauty will catch it and eat it. As for Luo Yan, he probably frightened the goose out of his wits and failed to fly high. He was so frightened that he had a heart attack and fell to the ground.

Think further, the mermaid in fairy tales, the vixen in Liaozhai, the spider spirit and the white-bone spirit in Journey to the West. Folk stories like the Legend of the White Snake and so on. Why are people so "obsessed" with animals? Always envision these animals falling in love with people! Do animals really fall in love with people? The animal closest to humans is undoubtedly the dog, and it is also the most humane. There are many stories about dogs being loyal to their owners, but there are absolutely no "dog spirits" who love humans out of love between male and female (opposite sex). This kind of love is based on dependence, not sex.

So, how come there are so many beautiful legends of "humans and beasts" in fairy tales, fairy tales, myths, and folk stories? Without answering the question first, let’s assume some scenarios and see what the effect is.

Fairy tale, mermaid, the prince holding a wet big carp on the bed, the smell of fish filled the room, the fin pierced the prince's thigh... In this situation, can the prince do it?

Folk tale, The Legend of White Snake. Xu Xian was rolled around on the bed by a rice dumpling wrapped around a white python as thick as a bowl. Could Xu Xian be interested at this time?

Liaozhai, vixen. The scholar was holding a furry fox about the size of a cat on the bed. The fox was so angry that the fur flew all over the bed. Is the scholar still in trouble?

Journey to the West, White Bone Demon. The monk was holding a skeleton on the bed... The monk was a human being, not a dog, so how could he like bones? Let's change it to the spider spirit. The monk is hugged tightly on the bed by a big black spider with eight legs... The monk will definitely pee in fear.

In the hypothetical scenario, people would definitely not be able to stand these animals. Not to mention love. So why are there these beautiful stories? If you think about it carefully, these stories all have one thing in common - animals can change into human form. Human form, yes, that’s the key. People still love people, and these animals must have human form before they can sleep with them.

The reason why people come up with these beautiful stories is probably because they don’t have people in their lives, so they fantasize about animals. But will those animals agree? They definitely said NO! And after saying NO, he raised his tail and ran away! These people are so terrifying!