A brief discussion of Zhuangzi

Research:

Zhuangzi was named Zhou, and people in the Tang Dynasty proposed that his courtesy name was Zimu. Huizi was his friend and lived in poverty all his life. Beyond that, it's almost impossible to get any definite information about him. When were you born? Where? None can be confirmed. As for his life experience, ancestral family, and friends (excluding Huizi, but it seems that it was only Huizi), it is difficult for the disciples to get any information. Regarding the years of his birth and death, there have always been different opinions, but they are generally between 375 BC and 275 BC. One of the more popular views is: Zhuangzi was born in 369 BC and died in 286 BC. This is the time used in textbooks and many books about Zhuangzi. Where was he born? It seems certain, because it is clearly written in "Historical Records" that "Zhuangzi is a deceiver." But where Mongolia belongs is debatable. Scholars in the Han Dynasty believe that Mongolia belongs to the Song Dynasty (today's Shangqiu). This view is still the mainstream today, but many people have raised objections. Some people think it is Chu, while others think it is Qi, Qi, etc. Rudi. "Historical Records" also says that "Zhou Chang was a lacquer garden official in Meng". What is a "lacquer garden official"? This caused controversy again. Most ancient people believed that Qiyuan was the name of the city, and the official of Qiyuan was the chief executive. Recent people have raised doubts. Yang Kuan believes that Qiyuan is a garden of lacquer trees, and the officials in Qiyuan are junior officials in the official forest farm, similar to the Yu people. Some scholars believe that lacquer garden officials refer to Zhuangzi's officials who managed the cultivation of lacquer trees and the production of lacquerware. These views are no longer elaborated one by one.

"Zhuangzi" is not divided into internal and external parts. "Hanshu" says that Zhuangzi originally had 52 chapters, but now there are only 33 chapters in "Zhuangzi". It is generally believed that the current version of "Zhuangzi" was compiled by Guo Xiang of the Jin Dynasty and divided into internal and external parts. However, some people think that it was Liu Xiang's work, so we will not discuss it here. Starting from Su Shi, scholars of all ages have been questioning the authenticity of Zhuangzi's books. Nowadays, most people believe that: "Inner Pian" was written by Zhuangzi, "Outer Pian" was written by Zhuangzi and his disciples or disciples, and "Outer Pian" was written by Zhuangzi and his disciples or disciples. "Miscellaneous Chapters" were written by later scholars. As for "Tao Zhi" and "Shuo Jian" among them, they believe that they have nothing to do with Zhuangzi and his thoughts.

Background of the various scholars:

Mozi died decades before Zhuangzi was born; two years before Zhuangzi was born, one of the most influential figures in Taoism, whose theories Yang Zi, who once filled half of the world, passed away; as for Zhuangzi's era, famous figures emerged in large numbers, such as: Huizi (one year older than Zhuangzi, the founder of famous families, proposed contract differences, advocated a vertical alliance, and once led troops to attack Hangu Pass), Gongsun Long ( Xiao Zhuangzi was 49 years old. He was another representative figure of famous scholars. He advocated separation and sophistry and was good at sophistry. He was famous for "a white horse is not a horse". Zou Yan (the founder of the Yin-Yang family, who was a beginner in Confucianism and failed to achieve his ambitions. Later, he talked about being a master with the "Five Virtues", received all courtesy, talked about heavenly things, and was known as "Tantianyan") , In addition, Sun Bin, Pang Juan, Zhang Yi, Su Qin, Le Yi, Tian Dan, Shen Buhai Shendao, Shang Yang, Qu Yuan, Mengchang Pingyuan (Chun Shenjun and Xinling Jun were active later than Zhuangzi), etc. were all born at that time.

Prince background:

Before Zhuangzi was born, the state of Chu was so powerful that it overpowered the princes and proclaimed himself king. Zhuangzi went through three generations of Chu kings: King Xuan, King Wei, and King Huai. The hegemony of Chu State near Xuan King and his fathers was not guaranteed. Wei and Qi came later, and the two countries respected each other as kings. In the year Zhuangzi was born, King Hui of Wei (Huizi was the prime minister of King Hui of Liang for many years, but later resigned due to political disagreements with Zhang Yi. After King Hui's death, Hui Zi returned to Wei and died a year later). He took the throne and moved the capital to Kaifeng 6 years later. The nearby area was called Liang State, which was "defeated by Qi in the east, Qin lost more than a hundred miles to the west, and humiliated by Chu in the south." When Zhuangzi was 13 years old, King Wei of Qi came to the throne. He was the monarch who "does not make a sound, but makes a big splash". He used Sun Bin, Tian Ji, Zou Ji and others to rule the country. The successor, King Xuan of Qi, was greedy for profit and took advantage of the civil strife in Yan to almost destroy the Wei State. Thirty years later (at the time of Prince Xuan and King Min of Qi), King Yan Zhao retaliated by "taking all the treasures of Qi and burning down his palaces and temples." From then on, Qi State fell into ruin. When Zhuangzi was 20 years old, Zhao Suhou (yes, Zhao State did not dare to call himself king at this time) came to the throne. Zhao Suhou was a hero. Zhao State, which was surrounded by enemies on all sides, was not bullied by anyone under his conquests. When King Wuling of Zhao came to the throne, it was said that Zhongshan State also dared to harass Zhao State, so King Wuling of Zhao "mounted and shot in barbarian clothes", which greatly increased the country's power. Unfortunately, the first hero starved to death in the Sand Dune Rebellion. After that, the State of Zhao experienced King Huiwen and King Xiaocheng. 24 years after Zhuangzi's death (King Xiaocheng), the Battle of Changping broke out and the main force of the State of Zhao was annihilated. From then on, the State of Zhao declined, and the situation of the six countries also declined.

During the time of Zhuangzi, the state of Qin mainly experienced two generations of monarchs: Qin Xiaogong (using Shang Yang) and Qin Huiwang (using Zhang Yi). Korea and Yan are extremely weak, let alone mentioning them. However, King Zhao of Yan should still be introduced. He came to the throne when Zhuangzi was 57 years old. He followed Guo Wei's suggestion of "buying the bones of a thousand-mile horse with a thousand gold". Yi. Later, under the leadership of Le Yi, an extremely weak country (just like today's Mongolia fighting Russia) defeated the arrogant "Eastern Emperor" (everyone became king, so naturally they had to give themselves a higher level The title of King Min of Qi shows the strength of the country.

Text:

(This article adopts the popular view of Zhuangzi’s birth and death dates and birthplace.)

Zhuangzi was born in 369 BC. This is a bloody and cruel time. , an era of moral decay. At this time, the theme of the era has only two words-"gong" and "profit". Everyone among the monarchs wants to be the boss. Which of the seven heroes is not a country with a story? Thinking of the illustrious martial arts of our ancestors, compared with our own mediocrity, can we not feel ashamed? what to do? war! So "fighting for land, killing people to fill the fields; fighting for cities, fighting, killing people to fill the city", the place where people lived was turned into a ruin. The dialogue between Zhuangzi and the skeleton in "Bliss" reflects from the side the tragic situation of "the bones exposed in the wild" caused by the war. What about the scholars? Su Dai said, "Integrity is not inherent in one's body, and righteousness is not inherent in one's life. A person who is benevolent and righteous is the way to complete himself, not the art of progress." This idea represents the common concept of scholars at that time, no matter what etiquette, justice, integrity, or shame you have , making yourself prosperous and wealthy is the last word. Zhang Yi and Su Qin did this, betrayal was as easy as drinking cold water; Pang Juan also did this, in order to maintain his position, it was nothing to frame his fellow disciple Sun Bin, he deserved to have his kneecaps dug out; Zou Ji also did it without hesitation, as long as If you can keep your position as prime minister, let alone say a few bad words about Tian Ji, even if you use more despicable methods, it will not matter. What about ordinary people? Su Qin said that the King of Qin failed, spent a hundred taels of gold, and returned home dejectedly. "The wife did not give birth to a child, the sister-in-law did not provide for the food, and the parents did not talk to each other." Su Qin was so ashamed that he felt ashamed. Later, he said that the King of Zhao succeeded, and he wore the seal and white jade. When the brocade was being put to its own use, "My parents heard about it, cleared the palace, set up a place for drinking, and welcomed people thirty miles away in the suburbs. My wife looked sideways and listened attentively; my sister-in-law crouched like a snake, bowed four times and knelt down to thank me." Su Qin asked Why did the sister-in-law's attitude change so much? The sister-in-law said, "Ji Zi is respected and rich in wealth." Su Qin then sighed, "If you are poor, your parents will not have children, and if you are rich, your relatives will be afraid." It can be seen that people in the entire society have become very impatient at this time. He is eager for quick success and his ugly face in the harsh world is abhorrent.

Zhuangzi is undoubtedly aware of this clearly. He strives to maintain an independent personality in this dirty and troubled world. Although he advertises his quiet and inactive attitude, he actually has strong love and hate deep in his heart. Guiguzi once taught his disciples: If the world can be saved, work hard to save it; if the world cannot be saved, destroy it completely so that it can be reborn. Confucius, Mencius, and Mo Zou believed that the world could be saved, so they either flaunted benevolence and righteousness, advocated universal love, or used the way of heaven to set things straight, and tried to repair the crumbling house; Zhuangzi was different. He was unable to tear down this dilapidated house as much as his personal travels could save it, but this did not prevent him from telling people that this house was uninhabitable. In "Zhuangzi", on the one hand, he strives to build the perfect world and perfect personality in his mind, and on the other hand, he bitterly mocks the world of the time and the villain's appearance.

The kind of people Zhuangzi hated most were the monarchs of various countries. He believed that the source of all troubles was the unsatisfied ambitions of monarchs. In "Zeyang", he enumerates the sins of the monarchs, "hiding them as things but being too stupid to recognize them, being in great trouble but not daring to commit crimes, carrying heavy responsibilities but not being punished, being too far away but not being punished", and believed that the evil in society This is also the reason why unhealthy trends arise. "When the people's knowledge is exhausted, they will continue with falsehoods; when the sun rises, there will be many falsehoods, but the soldiers and the people will be content with the falsehoods." Zhuangzi was filled with grief and indignation towards the monarchs who treated human life as nothing. He compared the war for land to the "Controversy of the Snail's Corner" through the words of the Dai and Jin people - "Those who have a country at the left corner of a snail are called the Chu clan." "The people who have a country at the right corner of the snail are called the Man clan. They fight for the territory. They lay down tens of thousands of corpses and drive north. After ten days, they rebelled." In Zhuangzi's eyes, the complacent monarchs were nothing but pathetic and ridiculous. Just a clown, Zhuangzi doesn't think there is anything to fight for in terms of land. The land that "the five emperors are connected to, the three kings are fighting for, the benevolent people are worried about, and the people are working hard" is no more than a grain of rice in a big ocean. The warehouse is generally small.

Zhuangzi also hated promiscuous and incompetent monarchs. Zhuangzi once went to see the King of Wei wearing patched linen clothes and tattered shoes. The King of Wei said to him, "Why do you look so slovenly and frustrated, sir?" Zhuangzi used an ape as a metaphor. Apes are among tall trees and lush forests, even Hou Yi. Feng Meng had nothing to do, but once he entered the thorns and bushes, he was frightened and unable to use his skills. Then Zhuangzi continued, "I am in the midst of chaos, and my desire is endless, how can I get rid of it?" Referring to King Hui of Wei, the chaotic one should be Zhang Yi)

Han Yu said, "I have little benevolence and righteousness." Zhuangzi went one step further - he hated benevolence and righteousness. His words related to "benevolence and righteousness" were very fierce. It is even called "a beast that is inferior to the oyster's tail" (more poisonous than the scorpion's tail and more ferocious than the wild beasts of the ancient times). Benevolence and righteousness are very good. Why does Zhuangzi hate benevolence and righteousness? In fact, the first paragraph has already made it very clear. Is there still benevolence and righteousness in the world at this time? there is none left! "Those who steal hooks will be punished, and those who steal the country will become princes." "Huan Gong Xiaobai killed his brother and took his sister-in-law, while Guan Zhong became a minister; Tian Chengzi killed the king and stole the country, but Confucius accepted the coins." How can there be benevolence and righteousness in this kind of world? But at this time, although there is no benevolence and righteousness, everyone praises benevolence and righteousness, and everyone does casual things in the name of benevolence and righteousness to benefit benevolence and righteousness. Zhuangzi then said, "The love of benefit comes from benevolence and righteousness. There are few who donate to benevolence and righteousness, but there are many who benefit from benevolence and righteousness." There are very few people who truly practice benevolence and righteousness. Most people just use it to seek benefits for themselves. In this way, benevolence and righteousness become a tool for greedy beasts. Once there is no need for benevolence and righteousness, these people will abandon it like nothing. shoe. Zhuangzi told such a story in "Tian Zifang": Zhuangzi met with Duke Ai of Lu, and Duke Ai told him that all people in Lu wore Confucian clothes, so there were Confucian scholars everywhere in Lu. Zhuangzi then said, "The gentleman who has his own way may not necessarily have the clothes; the person who has his clothes may not know the way." He asked Duke Ai to issue an order: Anyone who does not know the way but wears the clothes must be killed. . In the end, only one person was still wearing Confucian clothes. This story clearly expresses Zhuangzi's view that there are very few people who truly practice benevolence and righteousness, and most people are just pretentious and deceitful.

In fact, most of the targets of Zhuangzi's criticism of benevolence and righteousness were the monarchs and scholars at that time. Because people often use "the ways of the ancestors" and "the words of the saints" to cover their shameless behavior. So Zhuangzi criticized the previous kings and refuted the Confucian scholars (Confucius once said that his doctrine "should be based on benevolence and righteousness"), and he would ruthlessly remove the fig leaf of those people. Regarding the virtuous kings that people advertise, Zhuangzi said, "The root of great chaos must have arisen between Yao and Shun" and "Since Tang and Wu, all have been followers of chaos." This means that "Yao defeated Huandou, Shun defeated Sanmiao, and Yu There is no place for the rhetoric of "cutting down the workers, Tang and Xia, King Wen and Chong, King Wu and Zhou"; for the benevolent and righteous people advertised by Confucianism, Zhuangzi ruthlessly ridiculed: Boyi and Shuqi starved to death, Jiezi was pushed to death Burned to death by fire, Wei Sheng was drowned, Shentu Di Bao threw himself into the water, and Bao Jiao died hugging a tree. The death of these people is no different from the dogs that were dismembered or the dead pigs that swelled and rotted in the water. This makes Those who no longer want to seek fame and wealth with benevolence and righteousness feel uneasy; Zhuangzi also directly rebuked Confucius (Confucius and Mo Zhai were very popular at the time of Zhuangzi, but sadly, except for a few people such as Meng Ke and Xun Qing, Most people practice Confucius' skills purely for fame and fortune), "sew clothes with shallow clothes, hypocritical words and deeds, in order to confuse the masters of the world and desire wealth and honor", "eat without plowing, clothe without weaving, wagging their lips and blaring their tongues, "Good at making trouble", he criticized Confucius completely, but it is obvious that Zhuangzi's "drunkard's intention is not to drink", "hypocritical words and deeds", "wagging lips and tongue" and other words are obviously criticizing people of the world - Zongheng Family and those who work against other people for the sake of wealth.

Zhuangzi believed that the official career was very dangerous. In "The Human World", he used the words of Chu Kuang to express his feelings: "If the phoenixes are like phoenixes, it is like the decline of virtue! The next life cannot be waited for, often If there is a way in the world, how can a saint be achieved? If there is no way in the world, how can a saint be born? At this time, there is no way to avoid punishment! If blessings are light, don't know how to carry them; if disasters are heavy on the earth, don't know how to avoid them. "In "Zhuangzi", Zhuangzi expresses such emotions many times: in "Autumn Waters", facing the appointment of the King of Chu, Zhuangzi ignored the offer and preferred to drag his tail; in "Dasheng", he compared high-ranking officials with generous salaries to pigs. The feast of swordsmen enjoyed before death; in "Le Yu Ke", facing a person who was lucky enough to win the favor of the King of Song and show off to him, Zhuangzi compared the King of Song to a sleeping cruel black dragon, and the glory and wealth obtained by this person was compared to being stolen. Dragon Ball, once the black dragon wakes up, everything will turn into powder.

This view is based on reality: Huizi was loyal to Wei, but was dismissed as prime minister; Zhang Yi made great contributions to Qin, but was almost betrayed by the King of Qin; Le Yi avenged the King of Yan, but was expelled. Seeing all this, how could Zhuangzi not feel something? Zhuangzi emphasized the use of uselessness many times. In "Zhuangzi", there are many examples of tall trees without talents that were not cut down. It is precisely because of this idea that Zhuangzi further proposed his way of life through a story in "Mountain Trees": The big trees that are useless are not cut down, but the geese that are not good at singing are cooked. Faced with the disciples' In doubt, Zhuangzi said that he would be between talent and lack of talent. In fact, this is easy to understand. If one is really not talented, it will be difficult for an ordinary person to survive in troubled times.

As mentioned before, the society at this time was very utilitarian, and Zhuangzi hated this kind of world custom. Once upon a time, an envoy from the Song Dynasty named Cao Shang went to Qin and received a hundred chariots and horses as a gift from the King of Qin. He then ran to Zhuangzi to show off, and ridiculed Zhuangzi for "living in a poor alley, weaving shoes in poverty, and having no money." "Huang" (living in a dilapidated alley, so poor that he wears straw sandals, with a yellow complexion and thin skin). Zhuangzi showed no signs of weakness, and his words were astonishingly sharp. He said that when the King of Qin was sick, he asked someone to heal him. Those who sucked the sores were given one ride, and those who licked hemorrhoids were given five rides. The further down the lick, the more he was given. , and finally said with a sneer, "You can cure hemorrhoids, why do you have so many cars?" I don't know what the man's expression was at the end. Although Zhuangzi doesn't like people who are motivated by interests, he also doesn't like people who are obsessed with fame. For those who "pretend their knowledge to frighten the fool, cultivate themselves to expose their defilements, and make it clear as if they are walking under the sun and the moon", Zhuangzi Also dismissive. Zhuangzi once used the conversation between Caiyuan Old Man and Zigong as a way to scold Confucius, but in fact he was scolding those who were trying to gain fame in the world - "Erudition is used to imitate saints, Yu Yu is used to attract people, and single-stringed songs are used to sell reputation to the world" (Strive to be knowledgeable) Know more and imitate the saints everywhere. Their exaggeration and reserve outshine others. They sing songs about themselves and lament the worldly affairs and travel around the world to show off their reputation.) In Zhuangzi's concept, "Virtue is beyond fame, knowledge is beyond competition. Fame is a conflict." "Those who know it are weapons of struggle", "There is no near name for good deeds, no near punishment for evil deeds", "Nothing to gain fame, nothing to plan the government, nothing to take charge of, nothing to know the master" is the correct approach.

The utilitarianism of the world will inevitably lead to the hypocrisy of people's hearts. Zhuangzi clearly saw that "the human heart is dangerous to mountains and rivers, and it is difficult to understand the sky. The sky still has the phases of spring, autumn, winter, summer, and twilight, and humans are kind and affectionate." In "Foreign Objects", Zhuangzi mercilessly exposed the hypocrisy of the young Confucians - "Confucianism uses poetry and etiquette to lay graves." When Confucian scholars engaged in robbing tombs and prying out the pearls contained in the dead people's mouths, they actually cited scriptures - "Green wheat is born in the mausoleum. If you don't give alms in life, how can you hold pearls in death?" Legend has it that Zhuangzi was imprisoned because of his poverty. The Marquis of He wanted to borrow grain from his family, and the Marquis of Jianhe agreed wholeheartedly, but he said that he would have to wait until the town gold was collected. At that time, he directly lent Zhuangzi three hundred gold. I drew such a big piece of cake for Zhuangzi, so I obviously didn’t want to borrow it anymore. If it were someone else, they would definitely see through it without saying anything, otherwise it would be boring to everyone. But Zhuangzi was different. He was deeply disgusted with this hypocrisy, and angrily said, "When I came here, I heard a carp calling my name. It turned out that it was Bochen from the East China Sea who was trapped in the land of water and prayed to me. Sheng Dou's water came to survive, so I patted my chest and said, "Okay, but you have to wait until I persuade the king of Wu and Yue to bring the water from the Xijiang River to welcome you." Carp said to me very angrily, "What I want." It's just a little bit of water to survive. If you say that, you might as well go to the fish market early and watch me turn into dried fish.'"

Zhuangzi hated false benevolence and righteousness and respected true morality. Benevolence and righteousness are external manifestations, while morality is internal cultivation. Zhuangzi highly praised morality, "The most virtuous person cannot be heated by fire, drowned by water, harmed by cold or heat, and thieves by animals." Zhuangzi believes that a person's appearance is not important, and the fulfillment of virtue is the foundation of being a human being. The Supreme Master Ziyu has a hunched back with his spine exposed, shoulders higher than the top of his head, and his face hidden under his navel to reach the great road; he "does not teach when standing, and does not discuss when sitting" and teaches without words, but his disciples are similar to Confucius. Wu Zhe (a person who had one foot cut off) Wang Ni; the same Wu Zhe, and Zichan (the famous prime minister of Zheng State, who built a torture cauldron, changed the legal system, and "Zichan does not destroy the rural school" has been widely recited) and studied with Yu Bo Shen Tujia is a comatose person, but his virtue dwarfs that of Zi Chan (not the Shen Tujia who followed Liu Bang to conquer the world, this is a fictional character of Zhuangzi); his face is extremely ugly, but "the husband is in the same place, and he can't leave even if he thinks about it" . When a woman sees this, she asks her parents, "I would rather be my husband's concubine." There are more than ten people who mourn him. Zhuangzi repeatedly emphasizes the importance of virtue through this series of extreme examples.

Zhuangzi also told a story: a group of piglets were sucking the milk of a sow that had just died. Suddenly they discovered that the sow was dead, and they all panicked and fled in all directions. The reason why the piglets love their mother is not because they love her. Form, but love is what keeps the form alive. This "thing that makes the body alive" is extended to the human body as virtue. Therefore, if the virtue is long, the ugly body will be forgotten.

Plato once said, "Extreme freedom can only produce extreme slavery." In fact, the opposite is true - extreme slavery will inevitably produce free thoughts. It was the era when rituals and music bound human nature and the monarch enslaved the people that created Zhuangzi's thoughts on freedom and equality. Zhuangzi's view of freedom is the dual freedom of body and soul, and Zhuangzi's view of equality is the great equality between people and between people and all things. Zhuangzi longs for a carefree state: as free and unrestrained as a roc, the water hits three thousand miles; as leisurely as a butterfly, forgetting both things and myself. He believes that self, merit, and fame are all constraints on freedom. As the saying goes, "A perfect person has no self, a god has no merit, and a saint has no name." "Selflessness" does not mean turning yourself into an idiot, but getting rid of your excessive desires and listening to your inner voice. "Skillful people work hard, but those who know are worried, and those who are incompetent have nothing to ask for." Many people waste their lives, but in the end they sigh, "I always regret that this body is not mine, when will I forget about camp?" This is exactly how they imprison themselves, Work hard and lose your freedom. "No merit" means not being fettered by worldly affairs, acting as one pleases, and acting freely. The gods of Miaogushe Mountain did not eat grains, inhaled the wind and drank the dew, rode on the clouds and controlled the flying dragons. Yao and Shun, who said, "Is there anything wrong with the world?" lost their souls and felt as if they were lost. "Nameless" does not mean that the saint has no name, but that the saint has no reputation, which means that the saint does not care about reputation, so it can also be understood in this way - go your own way and let others tell you. Just like Song Rongzi, who "is praised by the world without persuading him, and criticized by the world without promoting him", he is not burdened by fame and does not change his approach by others' comments. Zhuangzi was just such a person. He went his own way and didn't care at all that "the princes and adults could not use it." Thousands of years later, Tang Bohu got a glimpse of Zhuangzi's true biography - "The world laughs at me for being crazy, but I laugh at me and the world can't see through it." The basis of freedom is equality. Just imagine where would freedom come from in a highly hierarchical social environment? Therefore, in Zhuangzi's concept, equality is also an important part. Confucius advocated "benevolence", but "love is differentiated". His love was distinguished between noble and inferior, and the so-called love was just the mercy of the superior to the inferior. Zhuangzi is different. Zhuangzi does not think that anyone is nobler than the other. He disdains power and wisdom. In his concept, the king is not nobler than the common people, and the wise men are not smarter than the fools. This was Zhuangzi's fierce resistance to the bad world customs at that time of using power to oppress people and using wisdom to deceive fools. It was also the basis of Zhuangzi's view of equality. Based on this, he put forward the theory of equality of things - "Heaven and earth and I coexist, and all things and I are one." Since all things are created by large blocks, then between heaven and earth, all things should be equal.

It is human nature to like life and hate death. Ordinary people are afraid of death, but Zhuangzi has an open-minded view of life and death - "The big piece carries me to form, works me to live, leaves me to grow old, and rests me to die." Life in the world is like a traveler from afar. Life is a journey. Life and death are as ordinary as separation. Just treat it calmly. Zhuangzi's wife died. When his friend Huizi was paying his condolences, he saw Zhuangzi sitting on a pot and singing. Huizi angrily said, "I have been with you all my life, and I have worked hard to have children all my life. Now it's okay if you don't cry, and you are still banging on the tiles." "It's too much!" Zhuangzi said, "How could I not be sad at first? Then I thought about it, she was born in nature, and now she has returned to nature, just like the change of the four seasons, I gradually became less sad. ”. When Zhuangzi was about to die, his disciples wanted to bury him generously. Zhuangzi told his disciples, "I have the heaven and earth, all things, the sun, the moon, and the stars as my companions. What kind of burial objects do I want?" The disciples were afraid that the eagle would eat Zhuangzi's body, so Zhuangzi smiled and said, "In The eagle eats the food above and the insects and ants below. Taking away the food of the eagle and giving it to the insects and ants is too biased."

Poverty and loneliness have accompanied this philosopher for more than eighty years. Except for Keiko, everyone in the world has In the vast world, no one can enter his heart. When Zhuangzi passed Huizi's tomb in his later years, he was filled with sadness and couldn't help saying to his disciples: "There was a man in the state of Chu who had a piece of white earth the size of a fly's wing on his nose. He asked a craftsman to chop it off with an axe. The craftsman cut it off. Picking up the ax and running it like the wind, the Chu man stood calmly without changing his expression. In the end, the white soil was chopped off cleanly, but the Chu man's nose was not damaged at all. After the Chu man's death, the craftsman's unique skills were never displayed in front of others. .

"After the story was told, Zhuangzi sighed, "Since the Master's death, I have nothing to say to you, and I have nothing to say to you." Perhaps you will think of the words "Searching in the country for three days and three days" in "Huizi Xiangliang" "Night", but whether from the perspective of Huizi himself or from the perspective of Liang Guo's politics, this is impossible. This short story is more like a joke for an old friend.

Death of Huizi About 30 years later, Zhuangzi died. 55 years after Zhuangzi's death, King Yingzheng of Qin unified the six countries, and the wars and killings that had lasted for hundreds of years were finally stopped. At that time, did the prince Ren Guo in Zhuangzi's eyes appear? ?

Note: Mr. Ren Guo went fishing, using fifty cows as bait and a giant rope as a fishing line. He cast it into the East China Sea for a year and got nothing. Later, he caught a big fish with white waves like mountains, which shocked everyone. Here, the sound is like a ghost, and everyone east of Zhejiang and west of Cangwu is full of this fish.