Follow us on Facebook to receive important updates Follow us on Twitter to receive important updates Follow us on sina.com's microblogging site to receive important updates Follow us on Douban to receive important updates
Chinese Text Project
Simplified Chinese version
Back Forward
Daoism -> Zhuangzi -> Inner Chapters -> The Adjustment of Controversies -> 11

啮缺问乎王倪曰：Nie Que asked Wang Ni, saying,
“子知物之所同是乎？”'Do you know, Sir, what all creatures agree in approving and affirming?'
曰：“吾恶乎知之！”How should I know it?' was the reply.
“子知子之所不知邪？”'Do you know what it is that you do not know?' asked the other again,
曰：“吾恶乎知之！” and he got the same reply.
“然则物无知邪？”He asked a third time, 'Then are all creatures thus without knowledge?'
曰：“吾恶乎知之！ and Wang Ni answered as before,
虽然，(adding however), 'Notwithstanding,
尝试言之。 I will try and explain my meaning.
庸讵知吾所谓知之非不知邪？How do you know that when I say "I know it," I really (am showing that) I do not know it,
庸讵知吾所谓不知之非知邪？and that when I say "I do not know it," I really am showing that I do know it.'
且吾尝试问乎女： And let me ask you some questions:
民湿寝则腰疾偏死，'If a man sleep in a damp place, he will have a pain in his loins, and half his body will be as if it were dead;
鰌然乎哉？ but will it be so with an eel?
木处则惴栗恂惧，猨猴然乎哉？If he be living in a tree, he will be frightened and all in a tremble; but will it be so with a monkey?
三者孰知正处？And does any one of the three know his right place ?
民食刍豢， Men eat animals that have been fed on grain and grass;
麋鹿食荐， deer feed on the thick-set grass;
蝍且甘带， centipedes enjoy small snakes;
鸱鸦耆鼠， owls and crows delight in mice;
四者孰知正味？ but does any one of the four know the right taste?
猨，The dog-headed monkey
猵狙以为雌， finds its mate in the female gibbon;
麋与鹿交， the elk and the axis deer cohabit;
鰌与鱼游。 and the eel enjoys itself with other fishes.
毛嫱、丽姬，Mao Qiang and Li Ji
人之所美也， were accounted by men to be most beautiful,
鱼见之深入，but when fishes saw them, they dived deep in the water from them;
鸟见之高飞，when birds, they flew from them aloft;
麋鹿见之决骤。and when deer saw them, they separated and fled away.
四者孰知天下之正色哉？But did any of these four know which in the world is the right female attraction?
自我观之， As I look at the matter,
仁义之端，the first principles of benevolence and righteousness
是非之涂，and the paths of approval and disapproval
樊然淆乱，are inextricably mixed and confused together
吾恶能知其辩！” - how is it possible that I should know how to discriminate among them?'
啮缺曰： Nie Que said (further),
“子不知利害，'Since you, Sir, do not know what is advantageous and what is hurtful,
则至人固不知利害乎？” is the Perfect man also in the same way without the knowledge of them?'
王倪曰： Wang Ni replied,
“至人神矣： 'The Perfect man is spirit-like.
大泽焚而不能热，Great lakes might be boiling about him, and he would not feel their heat;
河、汉冱而不能寒，the He and the Han might be frozen up, and he would not feel the cold;
疾雷破山、风振海而不能惊。the hurrying thunderbolts might split the mountains, and the wind shake the ocean, without being able to make him afraid.
若然者， Being such,
乘云气， he mounts on the clouds of the air,
骑日月， rides on the sun and moon,
而游乎四海之外。 and rambles at ease beyond the four seas.
死生无变于己， Neither death nor life makes any change in him,
而况利害之端乎！” and how much less should the considerations of advantage and injury do so!'

Enjoy this site? Please help.Site design and content copyright 2006-2024. When quoting or citing information from this site, please link to the corresponding page or to https://ctext.org/ens. Please note that the use of automatic download software on this site is strictly prohibited, and that users of such software are automatically banned without warning to save bandwidth. 沪ICP备09015720号-3Comments? Suggestions? Please raise them here.