Zhuangzi (369 BC - 286 BC) Quotes

Learning from ancient book Zhuangzi Art, Education, Quotes

art by Nataša Pantović

The Zhuangzi is an ancient Chinese text that is one of the two foundational texts of Taoism, alongside the Tao Te Ching. It was written during the late 200 BC.

Zhuangzi_Tian_Yun_Ms Chinese text

The Zhuangzi and Tao Te Ching are considered to be the two fundamental texts in the Taoist tradition. The Zhuangzi uses the word "Tao" (道) less frequently than the Tao Te Ching, with the former often using 'heaven' (天) in places the latter would use "Tao".

Inner chapters 

1               "Carefree Wandering"   逍遙遊; Xiāoyáo yóu

2              "On the Equality of Things"          齊物論; Qí wù lùn

3              "Essentials for Nurturing Life"    養生主; Yǎngshēng zhǔ

4              "The Human World"       人間世; Rénjiān shì

5              "Symbols of Integrity Fulfilled"  德充符; Dé chōng fú

6              "The Great Ancestral Teacher"  大宗師; Dà zōngshī

7              "Responses for Emperors and Kings"      應帝王; Yìng dì wáng

Outer chapters

8              "Webbed Toes"                駢拇; Piān mǔ

9              "Horses' Hooves"             馬蹄; Mǎtí

10           "Ransacking Coffers"      胠篋; Qū qiè

11           "Preserving and Accepting"         在宥; Zài yòu

12           "Heaven and Earth"        天地; Tiāndì

13           "The Way of Heaven"    天道; Tiān dào

14           "Heavenly Revolutions"                天運; Tiān yùn

15           "Ingrained Opinions"      刻意; Kè yì

16           "Mending Nature"          繕性; Shàn xìng

17           "Autumn Floods"             秋水; Qiū shuǐ

18           "Ultimate Joy"   至樂; Zhì lè

19           "Understanding Life"     達生; Dá shēng

20           "The Mountain Tree"     山木; Shān mù

21           "Sir Square Field"             田子方; Tiánzǐ fāng

22           "Knowledge Wanders North"     知北遊; Zhī běi yóu

Misc. chapters  

23           "Gengsang Chu"               庚桑楚; Gēngsāng Chǔ

24           "Ghostless Xu"  徐無鬼; Xú wúguǐ

25           "Sunny"               則陽; Zé yáng

26           "External Things"             外物; Wài wù

27           "Metaphors"     寓言; Yùyán

28           "Abdicating Kingship"     讓王; Ràng wáng

29           "Robber Footpad"           盜跖; Dào zhí

30           "Discoursing on Swords"               說劍; Shuō jiàn

31           "An Old Fisherman"        漁父; Yú fù

32           "Lie Yukou"         列禦寇; Liè Yùkòu

33           "All Under Heaven"        天下; Tiānxià

Zhuangzi believed the key to true happiness was to free oneself from worldly impingements through a principle of 'inaction' - wu wei

Zhuangzi rejects the distinction between the human and natural world.

Zhuangzi Quotes

Butterfly 

昔者莊周夢為胡蝶，栩栩然胡蝶也，自喻適志與。不知周也。

Once, Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering about, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know that he was Zhuang Zhou.

俄然覺，則蘧蘧然周也。不知周之夢為胡蝶與，胡蝶之夢為周與。周與胡蝶，則必有分矣。此之謂物化。

Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuang Zhou. But he didn't know if he was Zhuang Zhou who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming that he was Zhuang Zhou. Between Zhuang Zhou and the butterfly there must be some distinction! This is called the Transformation of Things.

— Zhuangzi

The Death of Wonton

南海之帝為儵，北海之帝為忽，中央之帝為渾沌。儵與忽時相與遇於渾沌之地，渾沌待之甚善。儵與忽謀報渾沌之德，曰：人皆有七竅，以視聽食息，此獨無有，嘗試鑿之。日鑿一竅，七日而渾沌死。

The emperor of the Southern Seas was Lickety, the emperor of the Northern Sea was Split, and the emperor of the Centre was Wonton. Lickety and Split often met each other in the land of Wonton, and Wonton treated them very well. Wanting to repay Wonton's kindness, Lickety and Split said, "All people have seven holes for seeing, hearing, eating, and breathing. Wonton alone lacks them. Let's try boring some holes for him." So every day they bored one hole [in him], and on the seventh day Wonton died.

— Zhuangzi

The Debate on the Joy of Fish

Chapter 17 contains a well-known exchange between Zhuangzi and Huizi, featuring a heavy use of wordplay; it has been compared to a Socratic dialogue.

莊子與惠子遊於濠梁之上。莊子曰：儵魚出遊從容，是魚樂也。

Zhuangzi and Huizi were enjoying themselves on the bridge over the Hao River. Zhuangzi said, "The minnows are darting about free and easy! This is how fish are happy."

惠子曰：子非魚，安知魚之樂。莊子曰：子非我，安知我不知魚之樂。

Huizi replied, "You are not a fish. How[a] do you know that the fish are happy?" Zhuangzi said, "You are not I. How do you know that I do not know that the fish are happy?"

惠子曰：我非子，固不知子矣；子固非魚也，子之不知魚之樂全矣。

Huizi said, "I am not you, to be sure, so of course I don't know about you. But you obviously are not a fish; so the case is complete that you do not know that the fish are happy."

莊子曰：請循其本。子曰汝安知魚樂云者，既已知吾知之而問我，我知之濠上也。

Zhuangzi said, "Let's go back to the beginning of this. You said, How do you know that the fish are happy; but in asking me this, you already knew that I know it. I know it right here above the Hao."

— Zhuangzi

Drumming On a Tub and Singing

莊子妻死，惠子弔之，莊子則方箕踞鼓盆而歌。惠子曰：與人居長子，老身死，不哭亦足矣，又鼓盆而歌，不亦甚乎。

Zhuangzi's wife died. When Huizi went to convey his condolences, he found Zhuangzi sitting with his legs sprawled out, pounding on a tub and singing. "You lived with her, she brought up your children and grew old," said Huizi. "It should be enough simply not to weep at her death. But pounding on a tub and singing—this is going too far, isn't it?"

莊子曰：不然。是其始死也，我獨何能無概然。察其始而本無生，非徒無生也，而本無形，非徒無形也，而本無氣。雜乎芒芴之間，變而有氣，氣變而有形，形變而有生，今又變而之死，是相與為春秋冬夏四時行也。

Zhuangzi said, "You're wrong. When she first died, do you think I didn't grieve like anyone else? But I looked back to her beginning and the time before she was born. Not only the time before she was born, but the time before she had a body. Not only the time before she had a body, but the time before she had a spirit. In the midst of the jumble of wonder and mystery a change took place and she had a spirit. Another change and she had a body. Another change and she was born. Now there's been another change and she's dead. It's just like the progression of the four seasons, spring, summer, fall, winter."

人且偃然寢於巨室，而我噭噭然隨而哭之，自以為不通乎命，故止也。

"Now she's going to lie down peacefully in a vast room. If I were to follow after her bawling and sobbing, it would show that I don't understand anything about fate. So I stopped."

— Zhuangzi

Zhuang Death

莊子將死，弟子欲厚葬之。莊子曰：吾以天地為棺槨，以日月為連璧，星辰為珠璣，萬物為齎送。吾葬具豈不備邪。何以加此。

When Master Zhuang was about to die, his disciples wanted to give him a lavish funeral. Master Zhuang said: "I take heaven and earth as my inner and outer coffins, the sun and moon as my pair of jade disks, the stars and constellations as my pearls and beads, the ten thousand things as my funerary gifts. With my burial complete, how is there anything left unprepared? What shall be added to it?"

弟子曰：吾恐烏鳶之食夫子也。莊子曰：在上為烏鳶食，在下為螻蟻食，奪彼與此，何其偏也。

The disciples said: "We are afraid that the crows and kites will eat you, Master!" Master Zhuang said: "Above ground I'd be eaten by crows and kites, below ground I'd be eaten by mole crickets and ants. You rob the one and give to the other—how skewed would that be?"

— Zhuangzi