| Chinese Text Project |
《秋水 - The Floods of Autumn》 | English translation: James Legge [?] | Books referencing 《秋水》 Library Resources |
| 1 | 秋水: | 秋水時至，百川灌河，涇流之大，兩涘渚崖之間，不辯牛馬。於是焉河伯欣然自喜，以天下之美為盡在己。順流而東行，至於北海，東面而視，不見水端，於是焉河伯始旋其面目，望洋向若而歎，曰：「野語有之曰『聞道百，以為莫己若』者，我之謂也。且夫我嘗聞少仲尼之聞而輕伯夷之義者，始吾弗信，今我睹子之難窮也，吾非至於子之門則殆矣，吾長見笑於大方之家。」 |
| The Floods of Autumn:...: | The time of the autumnal floods was come, and the hundred streams were all discharging themselves into the He. Its current was greatly swollen, so that across its channel from bank to bank one could not distinguish an ox from a horse. On this the (Spirit-) earl of the He laughed with delight, thinking that all the beauty of the world was to be found in his charge. Along the course of the river he walked east till he came to the North Sea, over which he looked, with his face to the east, without being able to see where its waters began. Then he began to turn his face round, looked across the expanse, (as if he were) confronting Ruo, and said with a sigh, 'What the vulgar saying expresses about him who has learned a hundred points (of the Dao), and thinks that there is no one equal to himself, was surely spoken of me. And moreover, I have heard parties making little of the knowledge of Zhongni and the righteousness of Bo-yi, and at first I did not believe them. Now I behold the all-but-boundless extent (of your realms). If I had not come to your gate, I should have been in danger (of continuing in my ignorance), and been laughed at for long in the schools of our great System.' | |
| 2 | 秋水: | 北海若曰：「井蛙不可以語於海者，拘於虛也；夏蟲不可以語於冰者，篤於時也；曲士不可以語於道者，束於教也。今爾出於崖涘，觀於大海，乃知爾醜，爾將可與語大理矣。天下之水，莫大於海，萬川歸之，不知何時止而不盈；尾閭泄之，不知何時已而不虛；春秋不變，水旱不知。此其過江河之流，不可為量數。而吾未嘗以此自多者，自以比形於天地而受氣於陰陽，吾在天地之間，猶小石小木之在大山也，方存乎見少，又奚以自多！計四海之在天地之間也，不似礨空之在大澤乎？計中國之在海內，不似稊米之在大倉乎？號物之數謂之萬，人處一焉；人卒九州，穀食之所生，舟車之所通，人處一焉。此其比萬物也，不似豪末之在於馬體乎？五帝之所連，三王之所爭，仁人之所憂，任士之所勞，盡此矣。伯夷辭之以為名，仲尼語之以為博，此其自多也，不似爾向之自多於水乎？」 |
| The Floods of Autumn:...: | Ruo, (the Spirit-lord) of the Northern Sea, said, 'A frog in a well cannot be talked with about the sea - he is confined to the limits of his hole. An insect of the summer cannot be talked with about ice - it knows nothing beyond its own season. A scholar of limited views cannot be talked with about the Dao - he is bound by the teaching (which he has received). Now you have come forth from between your banks, and beheld the great sea. You have come to know your own ignorance and inferiority, and are in the way of being fitted to be talked with about great principles. Of all the waters under heaven there are none so great as the sea. A myriad streams flow into it without ceasing, and yet it is not filled; and afterwards it discharges them (also) without ceasing, and yet it is not emptied. In spring and in autumn it undergoes no change; it takes no notice of floods or of drought. Its superiority over such streams even as the Jiang and the He cannot be told by measures or numbers; and that I have never, notwithstanding this, made much of myself, is because I compare my own bodily form with (the greatness of) heaven and earth, and (remember that) I have received my breath from the Yin and Yang. Between heaven and earth I am but as a small stone or a small tree on a great hill. So long as I see myself to be thus small, how should I make much of myself? I estimate all within the four seas, compared with the space between heaven and earth, to be not so large as that occupied by a pile of stones in a large marsh! I estimate our Middle States, compared with the space between the four seas, to be smaller than a single little grain of rice in a great granary! When we would set forth the number of things (in existence), we speak of them as myriads; and man is only one of them. Men occupy all the nine provinces; but of all whose life is maintained by grain-food, wherever boats and carriages reach, men form only one portion. Thus compared with the myriads of things, they are not equal to a single fine hair on the body of a horse. Within this range are comprehended all (the territories) which the five Dis received in succession from one another; all which the royal founders of the three dynasties contended for; all which excited the anxiety of Benevolent men; and all which men in office have toiled for. Bo-yi was accounted famous for declining (to share in its government), and Zhongni was accounted great because of the lessons which he addressed to it. They acted as they did, making much of themselves - therein like you who a little time ago did so of yourself because of your (volume of) water!' | |
| 3 | 秋水: | 河伯曰：「然則吾大天地而小毫末可乎？」北海若曰：「否。夫物，量無窮，時無止，分無常，終始無故。是故大知觀於遠近，故小而不寡，大而不多，知量無窮；證曏今故，故遙而不悶，掇而不跂，知時無止；察乎盈虛，故得而不喜，失而不憂，知分之無常也；明乎坦塗，故生而不說，死而不禍，知終始之不可故也。計人之所知，不若其所不知；其生之時，不若未生之時。以其至小，求窮其至大之域，是故迷亂而不能自得也。由此觀之，又何以知毫末之足以定至細之倪！又何以知天地之足以窮至大之域！」 |
| The Floods of Autumn:...: | The earl of the He said, 'Well then, may I consider heaven and earth as (the ideal of) what is great, and the point of a hair as that of what is small?' Ruo of the Northern Sea replied, 'No. The (different) capacities of things are illimitable; time never stops, (but is always moving on); man's lot is ever changing; the end and the beginning of things never occur (twice) in the same way. Therefore men of great wisdom, looking at things far off or near at hand, do not think them insignificant for being small, nor much of them for being great: knowing how capacities differ illimitably. They appeal with intelligence to things of ancient and recent occurrence, without being troubled by the remoteness of the former, or standing on tiptoe to lay hold of the latter: knowing that time never stops in its course. They examine with discrimination (cases of) fulness and of want, not overjoyed by success, nor disheartened by failure: knowing the inconstancy of man's lot. They know the plain and quiet path (in which things proceed), therefore they are not overjoyed to live, nor count it a calamity to die: the end and the beginning of things never occurring (twice) in the same way. We must reckon that what men know is not so much as what they do not know, and that the time since they were born is not so long as that which elapsed before they were born. When they take that which is most small and try to fill with it the dimensions of what is most great, this leads to error and confusion, and they cannot attain their end. Looking at the subject in this way, how can you know that the point of a hair is sufficient to determine the minuteness of what is most small, or that heaven and earth are sufficient to complete the dimensions of what is most large?' | |
| 4 | 秋水: | 河伯曰：「世之議者皆曰：『至精無形，至大不可圍。』是信情乎？」北海若曰：「夫自細視大者不盡，自大視細者不明。夫精，小之微也，垺，大之殷也，故異便。此勢之有也。夫精粗者，期於有形者也；無形者，數之所不能分也；不可圍者，數之所不能窮也。可以言論者，物之粗也；可以意致者，物之精也；言之所不能論，意之所不能察致者，不期精粗焉。是故大人之行，不出乎害人，不多仁恩；動不為利，不賤門隸；貨財弗爭，不多辭讓；事焉不惜人，不多食乎力，不賤貪污；行殊乎俗，不多辟異；為在從眾，不賤佞諂；世之爵祿不足以為勸，戮恥不足以為辱；知是非之不可為分，細大之不可為倪。聞曰：『道人不聞，至德不得，大人無己，約分之至也。」 |
| The Floods of Autumn:...: | The earl of the He said, 'The disputers of the world all say, "That which is most minute has no bodily form; and that which is most great cannot be encompassed" - is this really the truth?' Ruo of the Northern Sea replied, 'When from the standpoint of what is small we look at what is great, we do not take it all in; when from the standpoint of what is great we look at what is small, we do not see it clearly. Now the subtile essence is smallness in its extreme degree; and the vast mass is greatness in its largest form. Different as they are, each has its suitability - according to their several conditions. But the subtile and the gross both presuppose that they have a bodily form. Where there is no bodily form, there is no longer a possibility of numerical division; where it is not possible to encompass a mass, there is no longer a possibility of numerical estimate. What can be discoursed about in words is the grossness of things; what can be reached in idea is the subtilty of things. What cannot be discoursed about in words, and what cannot be reached by nice discrimination of thought, has nothing to do either with subtilty or grossness. Therefore while the actions of the Great Man are not directed to injure men, he does not plume himself on his benevolence and kindness; while his movements are not made with a view to gain, he does not consider the menials of a family as mean; while he does not strive after property and wealth, he does not plume himself on declining them; while he does not borrow the help of others to accomplish his affairs, he does not plume himself on supporting himself by his own strength, nor does he despise those who in their greed do what is mean; while he differs in his conduct from the vulgar, he does not plume himself on being so different from them; while it is his desire to follow the multitude, he does not despise the glib-tongued flatterers. The rank and emoluments of the world furnish no stimulus to him, nor does he reckon its punishments and shame to be a disgrace. He knows that the right and the wrong can (often) not be distinguished, and that what is small and what is great can (often) not be defined. I have heard it said, "The Man of Dao does not become distinguished; the greatest virtue is unsuccessful; the Great Man has no thought of self" - to so great a degree may the lot be restricted.' | |
| 5 | 秋水: | 河伯曰：「若物之外，若物之內，惡至而倪貴賤？惡至而倪小大？」北海若曰：「以道觀之，物無貴賤；以物觀之，自貴而相賤：以俗觀之，貴賤不在己。以差觀之，因其所大而大之，則萬物莫不大；因其所小而小之，則萬物莫不小。知天地之為稊米也，知豪末之為丘山也，則差數等矣。以功觀之，因其所有而有之，則萬物莫不有；因其所無而無之，則萬物莫不無。知東西之相反，而不可以相無，則功分定矣。以趣觀之，因其所然而然之，則萬物莫不然；因其所非而非之，則萬物莫不非。知堯、桀之自然而相非，則趣操睹矣。昔者堯、舜讓而帝，之、噲讓而絕；湯、武爭而王，白公爭而滅。由此觀之，爭讓之禮，堯、桀之行，貴賤有時，未可以為常也。梁麗可以衝城，而不可以窒穴，言殊器也；騏驥驊騮，一日而馳千里，捕鼠不如狸狌，言殊技也；鴟鵂夜撮蚤，察毫末，晝出瞋目而不見丘山，言殊性也。故曰：蓋師是而無非，師治而無亂乎？是未明天地之理，萬物之情者也。是猶師天而無地，師陰而無陽，其不可行明矣。然且語而不舍，非愚則誣也。帝王殊禪，三代殊繼。差其時，逆其俗者，謂之篡夫；當其時，順其俗者，謂之義徒。默默乎河伯！女惡知貴賤之門，大小之家！」 |
| The Floods of Autumn:...: |
The earl of the He said, 'Whether the subject be what is external in things, or what is internal, how do we come to make a distinction between them as noble and mean, and as great or small?' Ruo of the Northern Sea replied, 'When we look at them in the light of the Dao, they are neither noble nor mean. Looking at them in themselves, each thinks itself noble, and despises others. Looking at them in the light of common opinion, their being noble or mean does not depend on themselves. Looking at them in their differences from one another, if we call those great which are greater than others, there is nothing that is not great, and in the same way there is nothing that is not small. We shall (thus) know that heaven and earth is but (as) a grain of the smallest rice, and that the point of a hair is (as) a mound or a mountain - such is the view given of them by their relative size. Looking at them from the services they render, allowing to everything the service which it does, there is not one which is not serviceable; and, extending the consideration to what it does not do, there is not one which is not unserviceable. We know (for instance) that East and West are opposed to each other, and yet that the one cannot be without (suggesting the idea of) the other - (thus) their share of mutual service is determined. Looking at them with respect to their tendencies, if we approve of what they approve, then there is no one who may not be approved of; and, if we condemn what they condemn, there is no one who may not be condemned. There are the cases of Yao and Jie, each of whom approved of his own course, and condemned the other - such is the view arising from the consideration of tendency and aim. Formerly Yao and Shun resigned (their thrones), and yet each continued to be Di; Zhi-kuai resigned (his marquisate) which led to his ruin. Tang and Wu contended (for the sovereignty), and each became king; the duke a contended (for Qi), which led to his extinction. Looking at the subject from these examples of striving by force and of resigning, and from the conduct of Yao (on the one hand) and of Jie (on the other), we see that there is a time for noble acting, and a time for mean - these characteristics are subject to no regular rule. A battering ram may be used against the wall of a city, but it cannot be employed to stop up a hole - the uses of implements are different. The (horses) Qi-ji and Hua-liu could in one day gallop 1000 li, but for catching rats they were not equal to a wild dog or a weasel - the gifts of creatures are different. The white horned owl collects its fleas in the night-time, and can discern the point of a hair, but in bright day it stares with its eyes and cannot see a mound or a hill - the natures of creatures are different. Hence the sayings, "Shall we not follow and honour the right, and have nothing to do with the wrong? shall we not follow and honour those who secure good government, and have nothing to do with those who produce disorder?" show a want of acquaintance with the principles of Heaven and Earth, and with the different qualities of things. It is like following and honouring Heaven and taking no account of Earth; it is like following and honouring the Yin and taking no account of the Yang. It is clear that such a course cannot be pursued. Yet notwithstanding they go on talking so: if they are not stupid, they are visionaries. The Di sovereigns resigned their thrones to others in one way, and the rulers of the three dynasties transmitted their thrones to their successors in another. He who acts differently from the requirements of his time and contrary to its custom is called an usurper; he who complies with the time and follows the common practice is said to be righteous. Hold your peace, 0 earl of the He. How should you know what constitutes being noble and being mean, or who are the small and who the great?' | |
| 6 | 秋水: |
河伯曰：「然則我何為乎？何不為乎？吾辭受趣舍，吾終奈何？」北海若曰：「以道觀之，何貴何賤，是謂反衍，無拘而志，與道大蹇。何少何多，是謂謝施，無一而行，與道參差。嚴乎若國之有君，其無私德；繇繇乎若祭之有社，其無私福；泛泛乎 其1若四方之無窮，其無所畛域。兼懷萬物，其孰承翼？是謂無方。萬物一齊，孰短孰長？道無終始，物有死生，不恃其成；一虛一滿，不位乎其形。年不可舉，時不可止；消息盈虛，終則有始。是所以語大義之方，論萬物之理也。物之生也若驟若馳，無動而不變，無時而不移。何為乎？何不為乎？夫固將自化。」 |
| The Floods of Autumn:...: |
The earl of the He said, 'Very well. But what am I to do? and what am I not to do? How am I to be guided after all in regard to what I accept or reject, and what I pursue or put away from me?' Ruo of the Northern Sea replied, 'From the standpoint of the Dao, what is noble? and what is mean? These expressions are but the different extremes of the average level. Do not keep pertinaciously to your own ideas, which put you in such opposition to the Dao. What are few? and what are many? These are denominations which we employ in thanking (donors) and dispensing gifts. Do not study to be uniform in doing so - it only shows how different you are from the Dao. Be severe and strict, like the ruler of a state who does not selfishly bestow his favours. Be scrupulous, yet gentle, like the tutelary spirit of the land, when sacrifice is offered to him who does not bestow his blessing selfishly. Be large-minded like space, whose four terminating points are illimitable, and form no particular enclosures. Hold all things in your love, favouring and supporting none specially. This is called being without any local or partial regard; all things are equally regarded; there is no long or short among them. There is no end or beginning to the Dao. Things indeed die and are born, not reaching a perfect state which can be relied on. Now there is emptiness, and now fulness - they do not continue in one form. The years cannot be reproduced; time cannot be arrested. Decay and growth, fulness and emptiness, when they end, begin again. It is thus that we describe the method of great righteousness, and discourse about the principle pervading all things. The life of things is like the hurrying and galloping along of a horse. With every movement there is a change; with every moment there is an alteration. What should you be doing? what should you not be doing? You have only to be allowing this course of natural transformation to be going on.' 1. 其 : Deleted. | |
| 7 | 秋水: | 河伯曰：「然則何貴於道邪？」北海若曰：「知道者必達於理，達於理者必明於權，明於權者不以物害己。至德者，火弗能熱，水弗能溺，寒暑弗能害，禽獸弗能賊。非謂其薄之也，言察乎安危，寧於禍福，謹於去就，莫之能害也。故曰：天在內，人在外，德在乎天。知天人之行，本乎天，位乎得。蹢䠱而屈伸，反要而語極。」曰：「何謂天？何謂人？」北海若曰：「牛馬四足，是謂天；落馬首，穿牛鼻，是謂人。故曰：無以人滅天，無以故滅命，無以得殉名。謹守而勿失，是謂反其真。」 |
| The Floods of Autumn:...: |
The earl of the He said, 'What then is there so valuable in the Dao?' Ruo of the Northern Sea replied, 'He who knows the Dao is sure to be well acquainted with the principles (that appear in the procedures of things). Acquainted with (those) principles, he is sure to understand how to regulate his conduct in all varying circumstances. Having that understanding, he will not allow things to injure himself. Fire cannot burn him who is (so) perfect in virtue, nor water drown him; neither cold nor heat can affect him injuriously; neither bird nor beast can hurt him. This does not mean that he is indifferent to these things; it means that he discriminates between where he may safely rest and where he will be in peril; that he is tranquil equally in calamity and happiness; that he is careful what he avoids and what he approaches - so that nothing can injure him. Hence it is said, "What is heavenly is internal; what is human is external." The virtue (of man) is in what is Heavenly. If you know the operation of what is Heavenly and what is Human, you will have your root in what is Heavenly and your position in Virtue. You will bend or stretch (only) after the (necessary) hesitation; you will have returned to the essential, and may be pronounced to have reached perfection.' 'What do you mean,' pursued the earl, 'by the Heavenly, and by the Human?' Ruo replied, 'Oxen and horses have four feet - that is what I call their Heavenly (constitution). When horses' heads are haltered, and the noses of oxen are pierced, that is what I call (the doing of) Man. Hence it is said, "Do not by the Human (doing) extinguish the Heavenly (constitution); do not for your (Human) purpose extinguish the appointment (of Heaven); do not bury your (proper) fame in (such) a pursuit of it; carefully guard (the Way) and do not lose it: this is what I call reverting to your True (Nature)."' | |
| 8 | 秋水: | 夔憐蚿，蚿憐蛇，蛇憐風，風憐目，目憐心。 |
| The Floods of Autumn:...: | The kui desires to be like the millipede; the millipede to be like the serpent; the serpent like the wind; the wind to be like the eye; and the eye to be like the mind. | |
| 夔謂蚿曰：「吾以一足趻踔而行，予無如矣。今子之使萬足，獨奈何？」蚿曰：「不然。子不見夫唾者乎？噴則大者如珠，小者如霧，雜而下者不可勝數也。今予動吾天機，而不知其所以然。」 | ||
| The kui said to the millipede, 'With my one leg I hop about, and can hardly manage to go along. Now you have a myriad feet which you can employ; how is it that you are so abundantly furnished?' The millipede said, 'It is not so. Have you not seen one ejecting saliva? The largest portion of it is like a pearl, while the smaller portions fall down like a shower of mist in innumerable drops. Now I put in motion the springs set in me by Heaven, without knowing how I do so.' | ||
| 蚿謂蛇曰：「吾以眾足行，而不及子之無足，何也？」蛇曰：「夫天機之所動，何可易邪？吾安用足哉！」 | ||
| The millipede said to the serpent, 'I go along by means of my multitude of feet; and yet how is it that I do not go so fast as you who have no feet at all?' The serpent replied, 'How can the method of moving by the springs set in us by Heaven be changed? How could I make use of feet?' | ||
| 蛇謂風曰：「予動吾脊脅而行，則有似也。今子蓬蓬然起於北海，蓬蓬然入於南海，而似無有，何也？」風曰：「然。予蓬蓬然起於北海而入於南海也，然而指我則勝我，䠓我亦勝我。雖然，夫折大木，蜚大屋者，唯我能也，故以眾小不勝為大勝也。為大勝者，唯聖人能之。」 | ||
| The serpent said to the wind, 'I get along by moving my backbone and ribs, thus appearing to have some (bodily) means of progression. But now you, Sir, rise with a blustering force in the North Sea, and go on in the same way to the South Sea - seemingly without any such means. How does it take place?' The wind said, 'Yes. With such a blustering force I rise in the North Sea and go on to the South Sea. But you can point to me, and therein are superior to me, as you are also in treading on me. Yet notwithstanding, it is only I who can break great trees, and blow down great houses. Therefore he whom all that are small cannot overcome is a great overcomer. But it is only he who is the sagely man that is the Great Conqueror (of all).' | ||
| 9 | 秋水: | 孔子遊於匡，宋人圍之數匝，而絃歌不惙。子路入見，曰：「何夫子之娛也？」孔子曰：「來！吾語女。我諱窮久矣，而不免，命也；求通久矣，而不得，時也。當堯、舜而天下無窮人，非知得也，當桀，紂而天下無通人，非知失也，時勢適然。夫水行不避蛟龍者，漁父之勇也；陸行不避兕虎者，獵夫之勇也；白刃交於前，視死若生者，烈士之勇也；知窮之有命，知通之有時，臨大難而不懼者，聖人之勇也。由處矣！吾命有所制矣。」無幾何，將甲者進，辭曰：「以為陽虎也，故圍之；今非也，請辭而退。」 |
| The Floods of Autumn:...: | When Confucius was travelling in Kuang, some people of Song (once) surrounded him (with a hostile intention) several ranks deep; but he kept singing to his lute without stopping. Zi-lu came in, and saw him, and said, 'How is it, Master, that you are so pleased?' Confucius said, 'Come here, and I will tell you. I have tried to avoid being reduced to such a strait for a long time; and that I have not escaped shows that it was so appointed for me. I have sought to find a ruler that would employ me for a long time, and that I have not found one, shows the character of the time. Under Yao and Shun there was no one in the kingdom reduced to straits like mine; and it was not by their sagacity that men succeeded as they did. Under Jie and Zhou no (good and able man) in the kingdom found his way to employment; and it was not for (want of) sagacity that they failed to do so. It was simply owing to the times and their character. People that do business on the water do not shrink from meeting iguanodons and dragons - that is the courage of fishermen. Those who do business on land do not shrink from meeting rhinoceroses and tigers - that is the courage of hunters. When men see the sharp weapons crossed before them, and look on death as going home - that is the courage of the determined soldier. When he knows that his strait is determined for him, and that the employment of him by a ruler depends on the character of the time, and then meeting with great distress is yet not afraid - that is the courage of the sagely man. Wait, my good You, and you will see what there is determined for me in my lot.' A little afterwards, the leader of the armed men approached and took his leave, saying, 'We thought you were Yang Hu, and therefore surrounded you. Now we see our mistake.' (With this) he begged to take his leave, and withdrew. | |
| 10 | 秋水: | 公孫龍問於魏牟曰：「龍少學先生之道，長而明仁義之行，合同異，雜堅白，然不然，可不可，困百家之知，窮眾口之辯，吾自以為至達已。今吾聞莊子之言，汒焉異之，不知論之不及與，知之弗若與？今吾無所開吾喙，敢問其方。」 |
| The Floods of Autumn:...: | Gong-sun Long asked Mou of Wei, saying, 'When I was young, I learned the teachings of the former kings; and when I was grown up, I became proficient in the practice of benevolence and righteousness. I brought together the views that agreed and disagreed; I considered the questions about hardness and whiteness; I set forth what was to be affirmed and what was not, and what was allowable and what was not; I studied painfully the various schools of thought, and made myself master of the reasonings of all their masters. I thought that I had reached a good understanding of every subject; but now that I have heard the words of Zhuangzi, they throw me into a flutter of surprise. I do not know whether it be that I do not come up to him in the power of discussion, or that my knowledge is not equal to his. But now I do not feel able to open my mouth, and venture to ask you what course I should pursue.' | |
| 公子牟隱机太息，仰天而笑曰：「子獨不聞夫埳井之鼃乎？謂東海之鱉曰：『吾樂與！出跳梁乎井幹之上，入休乎缺甃之崖，赴水則接腋持頤，蹶泥則沒足滅跗，還虷蟹與科斗，莫吾能若也。且夫擅一壑之水，而跨跱埳井之樂，此亦至矣，夫子奚不時來入觀乎？』東海之鱉左足未入，而右膝已縶矣。於是逡巡而卻，告之海曰：『夫千里之遠，不足以舉其大；千仞之高，不足以極其深。禹之時，十年九潦，而水弗為加益；湯之時，八年七旱，而崖不為加損。夫不為頃久推移，不以多少進退者，此亦東海之大樂也。』於是埳井之鼃聞之，適適然驚，規規然自失也。且夫知不知是非之竟，而猶欲觀於莊子之言，是猶使蚊負山，商蚷馳河也，必不勝任矣。且夫知不知論極妙之言，而自適一時之利者，是非埳井之鼃與？且彼方跐黃泉而登大皇，無南無北，奭然四解，淪於不測；無東無西，始於玄冥，反於大通。子乃規規然而求之以察，索之以辯，是直用管窺天，用錐指地也，不亦小乎！子往矣！且子獨不聞壽陵餘子之學行於邯鄲與？未得國能，又失其故行矣，直匍匐而歸耳。今子不去，將忘子之故，失子之業。」 | ||
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Gong-sun Mou leant forward on his stool, drew a long breath, looked up to heaven, smiled, and said, 'Have you not heard of the frog of the dilapidated well, and how it said to the turtle of the Eastern Sea, "How I enjoy myself? I leap upon the parapet of this well. I enter, and having by means of the projections formed by the fragments of the broken tiles of the lining proceeded to the water, I draw my legs together, keep my chin up, (and strike out). When I have got to the mud, I dive till my feet are lost in it. Then turning round, I see that of the shrimps, crabs, and tadpoles there is not one that can do like me. Moreover, when one has entire command of all the water in the gully, and hesitates to go forward, it is the greatest pleasure to enjoy one's self here in this dilapidated well - why do not you, Master, often come and enter, and see it for yourself?" The turtle of the Eastern Sea (was then proceeding to go forward), but before he had put in his left foot, he found his right knee caught and held fast. On this he hesitated, drew back, and told (the frog) all about the sea, saying, "A distance of a thousand li is not sufficient to express its extent, nor would (a line of) eight thousand cubits be equal to sound its depth. In the time of Yu, for nine years out of ten the flooded land (all drained into it), and its water was not sensibly increased; and in the time of Thang for seven years out of eight there was a drought, but the rocks on the shore (saw) no diminution of the water because of it. Thus it is that no change is produced in its waters by any cause operating for a short time or a long, and that they do not advance nor recede for any addition or subtraction, whether great or small; and this is the great pleasure afforded by the Eastern Sea." When the frog of the dilapidated well heard this, he was amazed and terror-struck, and lost himself in surprise. And moreover, when you, who have not wisdom enough to know where the discussions about what is right and what is wrong should end, still desire to see through the words of Zhuangzi, that is like employing a mosquito to carry a mountain on its back, or a millipede to gallop as fast as the Ho runs - tasks to which both the insects are sure to be unequal. Still further, when you, who have not wisdom enough to know the words employed in discussing very mysterious subjects, yet hasten to show your sharpness of speech on any occasion that may occur, is not this being like the frog of the dilapidated well? And that (Zhuangzi) now plants his foot on the Yellow Springs (below the earth), and anon rises to the height of the Empyrean. Without any regard to south and north, with freedom he launches out in every direction, and is lost in the unfathomable. Without any regard to east and west, starting from what is abysmally obscure, he comes back to what is grandly intelligible. (All the while), you, Sir, in amazement, search for his views to examine them, and grope among them for matter for discussion - this is just like peeping at the heavens through a tube, or aiming at the earth with an awl; are not both the implements too small for the purpose? Go your ways, Sir. And have you not heard of the young learners of Shou-ling, and how they did in Han-dan? Before they had acquired what they might have done in that capital, they had forgotten what they had learned to do in their old city, and were marched back to it on their hands and knees. If now you do not go away, you will forget your old acquirements, and fail in your profession.' | ||
| 公孫龍口呿而不合，舌舉而不下，乃逸而走。 | ||
| Gong-sun Long gaped on the speaker, and could not shut his mouth, and his tongue clave to its roof. He slank away and ran off. | ||
| 11 | 秋水: | 莊子釣於濮水，楚王使大夫二人往先焉，曰：「願以境內累矣！」莊子持竿不顧，曰：「吾聞楚有神龜，死已三千歲矣，王巾笥而藏之廟堂之上。此龜者，寧其死為留骨而貴乎，寧其生而曳尾於塗中乎？」二大夫曰：「寧生而曳尾塗中。」莊子曰：「往矣！吾將曳尾於塗中。」 |
| The Floods of Autumn:...: | Zhuangzi was (once) fishing in the river Pu, when the king of Chu sent two great officers to him, with the message, 'I wish to trouble you with the charge of all within my territories.' Zhuangzi kept on holding his rod without looking round, and said, 'I have heard that in Chu there is a spirit-like tortoise-shell, the wearer of which died 3000 years ago, and which the king keeps, in his ancestral temple, in a hamper covered with a cloth. Was it better for the tortoise to die, and leave its shell to be thus honoured? Or would it have been better for it to live, and keep on dragging its tail through the mud?' The two officers said, 'It would have been better for it to live, and draw its tail after it over the mud.' 'Go your ways. I will keep on drawing my tail after me through the mud.' | |
| 12 | 秋水: | 惠子相梁，莊子往見之。或謂惠子曰：「莊子來，欲代子相。」於是惠子恐，搜於國中三日三夜。莊子往見之，曰：「南方有鳥，其名為鵷鶵，子知之乎？夫鵷鶵發於南海而飛於北海，非梧桐不止，非練實不食，非醴泉不飲。於是鴟得腐鼠，鵷鶵過之，仰而視之曰：『嚇！』今子欲以子之梁國而嚇我邪？」 |
| The Floods of Autumn:...: | Huizi being a minister of state in Liang, Zhuangzi went to see him. Some one had told Huizi that Zhuangzi was come with a wish to supersede him in his office, on which he was afraid, and instituted a search for the stranger all over the kingdom for three days and three nights. (After this) Zhuangzi went and saw him, and said, 'There is in the south a bird, called "the Young Phoenix" - do you know it? Starting from the South Sea, it flies to the Northern; never resting but on the bignonia, never eating but the fruit of the melia azederach, and never drinking but from the purest springs. An owl, which had got a putrid rat, (once), when a phoenix went passing overhead, looked up to it and gave an angry scream. Do you wish now, in your possession of the kingdom of Liang, to frighten me with a similar scream?' | |
| 13 | 秋水: | 莊子與惠子遊於濠梁之上。莊子曰：「儵魚出遊從容，是魚樂也。」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？」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。」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。」 |
| The Floods of Autumn:...: | Zhuangzi and Huizi were walking on the dam over the Hao, when the former said, 'These thryssas come out, and play about at their ease - that is the enjoyment of fishes.' The other said, 'You are not a fish; how do you know what constitutes the enjoyment of fishes?' Zhuangzi rejoined, 'You are not I. How do you know that I do not know what constitutes the enjoyment of fishes?' Huizi said, 'I am not you; and though indeed I do not fully know you, you certainly are not a fish, and (the argument) is complete against your knowing what constitutes the happiness of fishes.' Zhuangzi replied, 'Let us keep to your original question. You said to me, "How do you know what constitutes the enjoyment of fishes?" You knew that I knew it, and yet you put your question to me - well, I know it (from our enjoying ourselves together) over the Hao.' |
URN: ctp:zhuangzi/floods-of-autumn