Zhuangzi Qiushui's Original Text and Translation

In autumn, mountain torrents come in season, and many rivers flow into the Yellow River. The river is wide and rough, and even cattle and horses can't be distinguished between the banks and the sandbars in the water. So the river god was pleased with himself and thought that all the beautiful things in the world were gathered here. The river god went east along the current and came to the North Sea. Looking east, he couldn't see the end of the sea. So he just changed his complacent face, looked up at Poseidon and sighed, "There is a saying in the saying,' After hearing hundreds of truths, you think that no one in the world can match you', and that's me. Moreover, I have heard the words that Kong Qiu knows too little and Boyi's lofty righteousness is not worth paying attention to. At first, I couldn't believe it. Now I have seen with my own eyes that you are so vast and boundless. If I hadn't come to your door, I would have been in danger, and I would have been laughed at by people with high cultivation forever. "

Poseidon said, "The frogs in the well can't talk about the sea with them because they are limited by their living space; Insects in summer, it is impossible to talk about freezing with them, because they are limited by living time; It is impossible to talk to them about the avenue in the land of rural songs because of the bondage of upbringing. Now that you have come out from the river bank and seen the sea, you will know your meanness, and you will be able to participate in talking about the avenue. There is nothing bigger than the sea on the surface of the world. Thousands of rivers flow into the sea. I don't know when it will stop and the sea will never overflow. The tail at the bottom of the sea leaks seawater, and I don't know when it will stop, but the seawater has never decreased; No change in spring or autumn, no consciousness in flood or drought. This shows that the sea far exceeds the flow of rivers and cannot be calculated by quantity. However, I have never been complacent, thinking that I have inherited my body from heaven and earth and my vitality from yin and yang. I exist between heaven and earth, just like a small stone and a small piece of sawdust in the mountains. Just when I thought my existence was really small, where could I think I was satisfied and conceited? Think about it, the four seas exist between heaven and earth, just like small pores between stones exist in osawa. Think again, the land of the Central Plains exists in the four seas, isn't it just like fine grains and rice grains in a big granary? The number of things is called ten thousand, and human beings are just one of all things; People gather in Kyushu, where food grows and boats pass, and everyone is just one of many people; Compared with all things, isn't a person like the end of a hair in the whole horse? What the Five Emperors continued to connect with, what the Three Kings fought for, what the benevolent people worried about, and what the talented people worked for all lie in this tiny world! Boyi resigned to it and gained fame, while Kong Qiu talked about it and showed great knowledge, which is probably their complacency and pride; Isn't it like you were complacent when the river surged? "

The river god said, "Well, then I regard heaven and earth as the largest and the smallest, okay?"

Poseidon replied, "No. The amount of everything is inexhaustible, the passage of time is endless, there is no constant routine for the characteristics of gain and loss, and there is no definite cause for the end and beginning of things. Therefore, people with great wisdom never observe things in a corner, so small size is not regarded as less, but large size is not regarded as more, because they know that the amount of things is inexhaustible; Prove and observe all kinds of situations through the ages, so that you will live a long life without getting tired, and you will not seek to prolong your life if you are near, because you know that there is no end to the passage of time; Knowing that things have the law of surplus and deficiency, we don't rejoice in what we have gained, and we don't regret what we have lost, because we know that there is no rule about the nature of gain and loss; Knowing that there is no barrier between life and death is like a smooth road, so being born in the world will not be doubly happy, and death will not add to the body, because knowing the end and the beginning will not be static. Calculate the knowledge that man knows, far less than what he doesn't know, and the time he lives is far less than the time he is not alive; With extremely limited wisdom to explore the endless realm, so I am confused and inevitably can't get anything! From this point of view, how can we know that the end of the hair can be judged to be the smallest limit? How do you know that heaven and earth can be regarded as the largest realm? "

The river god said, "People who talk in the world always say,' The smallest thing has no shape to find, and the biggest thing has no definite scope'. Is this true and credible? "

Poseidon replied, "From a small point of view, a huge thing can't be comprehensive, and from a huge point of view, a small thing can't be real. Fine, it is small in small; Huge, it is large, medium and large; However, although the size is different, each has its own appropriateness. This is the inherent situation of things. The so-called fineness and coarseness are limited to tangible things, and as for things without form, they cannot be dissected by calculating the number; And things that cannot be limited in scope, let alone accurately calculated by quantity. What can be talked about in words is the superficial external appearance of things; What can be conveyed by the mind is the fine inner essence of things. What words can't talk about and what minds can't tell is not limited to the fine and superficial scope. Therefore, the actions of noble people will not be out of harm to people, nor will they appreciate giving kindness and favor to people; No matter what you do, it is not for personal gain, and you will not despise people who are engaged in gatekeepers and the like. No matter what property you have, you don't fight for it, nor do you value humility and resignation; Never rely on the strength of others in everything, but neither advocate self-reliance, nor despise greed and filth; Action is different from the secular, but it does not advocate evil and strange; People who follow the general behavior are not humble by flattery and flattery; The so-called high officials and generous salaries in the world are not enough as encouragement, and punishment and insult are not enough as shame; Knowing the boundary between right and wrong can't be clearly defined, and knowing that small and huge can't determine a clear boundary. It is said:' People who can observe the avenue do not want Wen Da to live in the world, people with noble cultivation do not care about gains and losses, and people who are pure and quiet can forget themselves'. This is the state of restraining yourself and achieving a proper balance. "

the river god said, "the appearance of such things, the inner nature of such things, where can we distinguish them from each other?" How can we tell them apart? "

Poseidon replied, "According to the common sense of nature, there is no difference between noble and noble things. From the point of view of everything itself, each is expensive and the other is cheap. From a secular point of view, the rank is not the thing itself. According to the differences between things, if you look at the big side of all kinds of objects, you will think that the objects are big, so there is nothing wrong with everything. Observing along the small side of various objects will think that the object is small, so nothing is small; Knowing that the heavens and the earth are as small as a grain of rice compared with something bigger, knowing that the end of a hair is as tall as a hill compared with something smaller, and the difference and quantity of everything are clearly seen. According to the function of things, observing along the side of the object will think that there is such a function, so there is nothing that everything does not have such a function; Observing along the side of an object that it doesn't have will think that it doesn't have such a function, so nothing in everything has such a function; It can be seen that the east and the west are in opposite directions but cannot be short of each other, and the function and duty of things can be determined. From the perspective of people's trend towards things, observing along the positive side of all kinds of things will be considered right, so there is nothing wrong with everything; Observing along the negative side of all kinds of things will think it is wrong, so there is nothing wrong with everything; Knowing that Tang Yao and Xia Jie both think they are right and deny each other, people's tendency and persistence can be clearly seen. At that time, Tang Yao and Yu Shun abdicated and proclaimed themselves emperor, while the prime minister and the prince of Yan abdicated and the state of Yan almost perished. Shang Tang and Zhou Wuwang both competed for the world and became emperors, while Bai Gongsheng was killed for the throne. From this point of view, the ritual system of struggle and surrender, the practice of Tang Yao and Xia Jie, and the contempt of Jean-Claude Juncker will vary from time to time, and they cannot be regarded as unchangeable laws. Beams can be used to attack enemy cities, but they can't be used to block caves. It is said that the use of artifacts is different. A fine horse gallops thousands of miles a day, but catching mice is not as good as that of wild cats and weasels. It is said that skills are different. Owls can catch small fleas at night and look at the tiny hairs, but they can't see the tall hills with their eyes wide open in the daytime, saying that their nature is different. Therefore, how can we only pay attention to the right side and ignore the wrong side, and pay attention to governance and ignore chaos? This is because we don't know the truth of natural existence and the truth of everything itself. This is like attaching importance to the sky and neglecting the earth, and attaching importance to yin and neglecting yang. It is quite clear that it is not feasible. However, we still have to talk about it endlessly, either ignorance or deception! The demise of ancient emperors was different, and the inheritance of Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties was also different. An anachronistic and rebellious person is called a usurper; People who are in line with the times and conform to the secular world call him a man of high righteousness. Silence, river god! How can you know the difference between different families and sizes? "

The river god said, "In this case, what should I do? What should I not do? How will I refuse or accept, hasten or give up, and what will I do after all? "

Poseidon replied, "From the viewpoint of Tao, what is expensive and what is cheap can be called a cycle; Don't tie your mind, but go against the road. What is less and what is more can be called replacement extension; Don't be paranoid about one aspect of things and don't agree with the main road. Dignified and dignified, like the monarch of a country, there is really no favoritism; You are like a land god in sacrifice, and there is really no selfish blessing; The vastness of the surrounding area seems to be accessible to all directions and endless, and there is really no distinction between boundaries; Store and contain all things, who specially bears or takes shelter? This is called not being paranoid about any aspect of things. Everything in the universe is in harmony, so who is superior and who is inferior? Avenue has no end and beginning, but everything has death and life, so it is impossible to rely on temporary success. Sometimes empty and sometimes full, everything never sticks to a certain unchanging form. Time can't stay, time will never stop, fade, grow, enrich and empty, and the end of all things in the universe will begin again. In this way, we can talk about the principles of the avenue and comment on the truth of everything. The growth of all things, like a horse galloping like a carriage galloping, there is no action that is not changing, and there is no time that is not moving. What should be done? What should I not do? Everything will change naturally! "

the river god said, "If that's the case, then why do you attach so much importance to the avenue?"

Poseidon replied, "Those who know the avenue must be sensible, those who know the reason must understand the contingency, and those who understand the contingency will never hurt themselves because of foreign objects. People with high moral cultivation can't burn them with fire, flood can't drown them, cold and heat can't invade them, and birds and animals can't hurt them. It doesn't mean that they can survive the intrusion of fire and water, cold and heat and the harm of animals, but that they are aware of safety, content with misfortune and happiness, and cautious about abandoning and pursuing, so nothing can hurt them. Therefore, we say, "Nature contains Uneri, man-made is exposed externally, and noble cultivation conforms to nature. Knowing what people can do, based on the laws of nature, living in a complacent environment, wandering around, flexing and stretching, can also talk about the extreme truth of returning to the main road. "

The river god said," What is nature? What is man-made? "

Poseidon replied," Cattle and horses are born with four feet, which is called nature; Put a horse's head in a horse's neck and a cow's nose through it. This is called human behavior. Therefore, don't destroy nature by human actions, don't destroy nature by intentional actions, and don't spare no effort to gain a false reputation. Keeping the natural temperament carefully without losing it is called returning to the true nature. "

A one-legged owl envies a multi-legged owl, a multi-legged owl envies a legless snake, a legless snake envies the invisible wind, the invisible wind envies the eyes that see things clearly, and the eyes that see things clearly envy the inner soul.

I said to the owl, "I jump on one foot, and no one is easier than me. Now you use tens of thousands of feet to walk, what is it like? "No," said the grasshopper. Didn't you see the spitting? Spit as big as beads, as small as droplets, mixed with spit down countless. Now I start my natural function and walk, but I don't know why I can do this. "

The grasshopper said to the snake," I walk with many feet, but you have no feet. Why? "The snake said," How can you change your actions by relying on natural functions? Where do I need my feet? "

The snake said to the wind," I started my spine and waist to walk, but I still walked with my feet. Now that you have lifted from the North Sea and landed in the South China Sea, you have left no trace of your feet. Why? "Yes," said the wind, "I came to the South China Sea with a roar from the North Sea. But people stop me with their hands and I can't blow off my fingers. People kick me with their legs and feet and I can't blow off my legs and feet. Even so, breaking trees and overturning tall houses, but only I can do it, and this is the small aspect of not seeking victory but seeking great victory. Only a saint can achieve great victory. "

Confucius traveled to Kuangdi, and the Wei people surrounded him layer by layer, but Confucius kept playing the piano and reading. Zilu went inside to see Confucius and said, "Why is your husband so happy? "Confucius said," Come, I'll tell you! I have been embarrassed for a long time, but I can't get rid of it all the time. This is fate. I have been looking for access for a long time, but I have never been able to achieve it. This is luck. In the era of Yao and Shun, there was no one in the world who was down and out, not because they were all intelligent. In the era of Jie and Zhou, there is no one who is knowledgeable in the world, not because they are all of low intelligence. This is all caused by luck. It is the fisherman's courage to move in the water without avoiding the dragon; It is the hunter's courage to move on land without avoiding rhinoceros and tigers; The sword is staggered across the eyes, and it is the courage of a brave man to treat death as if it were alive. Knowing that poverty is destiny takes a hand, knowing that smooth access is caused by luck, and facing great difficulties without fear, this is the courage of saints. Zhongyou, you'd better take it easy! I am destined to be controlled! "

Not long after, the general who led the soldiers came in and said with deep apologies," Everyone regarded you as a tiger, so they surrounded you; Now that I know that you are not a tiger, please let me apologize to you and evacuate the troops. "

Gong Sunlong asked Wei Mou," When I was young, I studied the ideas of ancient holy kings, and when I grew up, I understood the behavior of benevolence and righteousness. Can combine the differences and similarities of things into one, and separate the hard texture of an object from the white color; Be able to say what is wrong is right and what should not be recognized is appropriate; I think I am the most knowledgeable, and I can confuse hundreds of wise men and make many eloquent speeches. Now I am at a loss after listening to Zhuangzi's speech. I don't know if it's me