Supreme Happiness

對曰：「臣，工人，何術之有！雖然，有一焉。臣將為鐻，未嘗敢以耗氣也，必齊以靜心。齊三日，而不敢懷慶賞爵祿；齊五日，不敢懷非譽巧拙；齊七日，輒然忘吾有四枝形體也。當是時也，無公朝，其巧專而外骨消；然後入山林，觀天性，形軀至矣，然後成見鐻，然後加手焉，不然則已。則以天合天，器之所以疑神者，其是與！」

He answered: "I am only a craftsman; what art do I have! Even so, there is one thing. When I am about to make a bell stand, I never dare to waste my qi, and I always fast to still my mind. After fasting three days, I no longer dare to think of reward, praise, rank, or salary; after fasting five days, I no longer dare to think of blame, praise, skill, or clumsiness; after fasting seven days, I forget that I have four limbs and a body. At such a time there is no ducal court; my skill is concentrated and outside disturbances vanish; then I enter the mountain forest and observe the natures of trees; when the body of one is right, I see the bell stand complete in it, and only then do I set my hand to it; otherwise I stop. It is simply using Heaven to match Heaven; that the vessel is suspected of being made by spirits is surely due to this!"

東野稷以御見莊公，進退中繩，左右旋中規。莊公以為文弗過也，使之鉤百而反。

Dongye Ji sought an audience with Duke Zhuang on the strength of his chariot-driving, advancing and retreating according to the line and turning left and right according to the compass. Duke Zhuang thought even a pattern could not exceed it, and had him make a hundred circuits and return.

顏闔遇之，入見曰：「稷之馬將敗。」公密而不應。

Yan He met him, went in to see the duke, and said: "Ji's horses are about to break down." The duke was silent and did not answer.

少焉，果敗而反。公曰：「子何以知之？」

Before long, as he predicted, they broke down and returned. The duke said: "How did you know?"

曰：「其馬力竭矣，而猶求焉，故曰敗。」

(Yan He) said: "His horses' strength was already exhausted, and he was still demanding more of them, so I said they would break down."

工倕旋而蓋規矩，指與物化而不以心稽，故其靈臺一而不桎。忘足，履之適也；忘要，帶之適也；知忘是非，心之適也；不內變，不外從，事會之適也。始乎適而未嘗不適者，忘適之適也。

Craftsman Chui turned things and matched the compass and square, his fingers transforming with the thing without measuring with the mind; so his spirit-terrace was unified and not fettered. Forget the feet, and the shoes fit; forget the waist, and the belt fits; when knowledge forgets right and wrong, the mind fits; when within there is no change and without there is no following, and one meets affairs, one fits. Beginning from fitting and never not fitting is the fitting that has forgotten fitting.

有孫休者，踵門而詫子扁慶子曰：「休居鄉不見謂不脩，臨難不見謂不勇；然而田原不遇歲，事君不遇世，賓於鄉裡，逐於州部，則胡罪乎天哉？休惡遇此命也？」

There was one Sun Xiu, who went to the door and asked Master Bian Qingzi in amazement: "Living in the village, I was not called undisciplined; facing danger, I was not called cowardly; yet my fields did not meet good years, I did not meet the right time in serving a ruler, I was rejected by the village and driven out by the district; so what is my offense against Heaven? How did I meet such a fate?"

扁子曰：「子獨不聞夫至人之自行邪？忘其肝膽，遺其耳目，芒然彷徨乎塵垢之外，逍遙乎無事之業，是謂為而不恃，長而不宰。今汝飾知以驚愚，脩身以明汙，昭昭乎若揭日月而行也。汝得全而形軀，具而九竅，無中道夭於聾盲跛蹇而比於人數，亦幸矣，又何暇乎天之怨哉！子往矣！」

Master Bian said: "Have you not heard of the conduct of the perfect man? He forgets his liver and gall, discards his ears and eyes, wanders vaguely beyond dust and dirt, and roams freely in the business of non-action; this is called acting without relying and leading without ruling. Now you adorn your knowledge to frighten the foolish, and cultivate yourself to show up their filth, brightly as if walking carrying the sun and moon. That you can keep your body whole and have the nine openings complete, not dying young in the middle of life from deafness, blindness, or lameness and yet being counted among men, is already fortunate; how can you have leisure to blame Heaven! Go on your way!"

孫子出，扁子入。坐有閒，仰天而歎。弟子問曰：「先生何為歎乎？」

Master Sun went out, and Master Bian came in. After sitting a while, he looked up to heaven and sighed. A disciple asked: "Why does the Master sigh?"

扁子曰：「曏者休來，吾告之以至人之德，吾恐其驚而遂至於惑也。」

Master Bian said: "Just now Xiu came, and I told him of the virtue of the perfect man; I fear he will be startled and end up confused."

弟子曰：「不然。孫子之所言是邪，先生之所言非邪，非固不能惑是；孫子所言非邪？先生所言是邪？彼固惑而來矣，又奚罪焉！」

The disciple said: "It is not so. If what Master Sun said was right and what the Master said was wrong, then the wrong could not confuse the right; if what Master Sun said was wrong and what the Master said was right, then he came already confused; what fault is there!"

扁子曰：「不然。昔者有鳥止於魯郊，魯君說之，為具太牢以饗之，奏九韶以樂之。鳥乃始憂悲眩視，不敢飲食。此之謂以己養養鳥也。若夫以鳥養養鳥者，宜棲之深林，浮之江湖，食之以委蛇，則平陸而已矣。今休，款啟寡聞之民也，吾告以至人之德，譬之若載鼷以車馬，樂鴳以鐘鼓也，彼又惡能無驚乎哉！」

Master Bian said: "It is not so. Formerly a bird came to rest in the outskirts of Lu, and the Marquis of Lu liked it, prepared the great sacrifice of ox, sheep, and pig to entertain it, and played the Jiushao music to please it. The bird then began to grow sad and dizzy, and did not dare to eat or drink. This is called nourishing a bird by the way one nourishes oneself. To nourish a bird by the way of nourishing a bird, one should let it perch in a deep forest, float on rivers and lakes, and feed it with loaches, and level ground would be enough. Now Xiu is a man whose openings have just opened and who has seen and heard little; telling him of the virtue of the perfect man is like loading a mouse onto a carriage and horses, or using bells and drums to amuse a quail; how could it not be startled!"

莊子行於山中，見大木，枝葉盛茂。伐木者止其旁而不取也。問其故，曰：「無所可用。」莊子曰：「此木以不材得終其天年。」

Zhuangzi was walking in the mountains and saw a great tree with luxuriant branches and leaves. The woodcutter stopped beside it and did not take it. Asked the reason, he said: "There is nothing it can be used for." Zhuangzi said: "This tree, because it is useless as timber, is able to live out its natural years."

夫子出於山，舍於故人之家。故人喜，命豎子殺雁而烹之。豎子請曰：「其一能鳴，其一不能鳴，請奚殺？」主人曰：「殺不能鳴者。」

The Master came out of the mountains and stayed at the house of an old friend. The friend was delighted and told a servant boy to kill a goose and cook it. The boy asked: "One can cry out and one cannot; which should I kill?" The host said: "Kill the one that cannot cry out."

明日，弟子問於莊子曰：「昨日山中之木，以不材得終其天年；今主人之雁，以不材死；先生將何處？」

The next day, the disciples asked Zhuangzi: "Yesterday the tree in the mountain, being useless as timber, was able to live out its natural years; now the host's goose, being useless, was killed; where will you stand, Master?"

莊子笑曰：「周將處乎材與不材之間。材與不材之間，似之而非也，故未免乎累。若夫乘道德而浮遊則不然。無譽無訾，一龍一蛇，與時俱化，而無肯專為；一上一下，以和為量，浮遊乎萬物之祖；物物而不物於物，則胡可得而累邪！此神農黃帝之法則也。若夫萬物之情，人倫之傳，則不然。合則離，成則毀；廉則挫，尊則議，有為則虧，賢則謀，不肖則欺。胡可得而必乎哉！悲夫，弟子志之，其唯道德之鄉乎！」

Zhuangzi laughed and said: "Zhou will stand between being useful and useless. Between being useful and useless seems right but in fact is not, so one cannot avoid entanglement. But as for riding on the Way and its virtue and floating freely, it is not so. There is no praise and no blame, now a dragon, now a snake, changing with the times and unwilling to be devoted to one thing alone; now up, now down, taking harmony as one's measure, floating freely in the ancestor of the myriad things; making use of things without being used by things, how could one be entangled! This was the rule of Shennong and the Yellow Emperor. As for the nature of the myriad things and the transmitted practice of human relations, it is not so. When joined, they separate; when completed, they are ruined; the incorruptible is broken, the honored is criticized, the active falls short, the worthy is plotted against, the unworthy is cheated. How can one count on anything! Alas, disciples, remember: only the home of the Way and its virtue!"

市南宜僚見魯侯，魯侯有憂色。市南子曰：「君有憂色，何也？」

Yiliao of Shinan met the Marquis of Lu, and the Marquis had a worried look. Master Shinan said: "Why does Your Lordship look worried?"

魯侯曰：「吾學先王之道，脩先君之業；吾敬鬼尊賢，親而行之，無須臾離居；然不免於患，吾是以憂。」

The Marquis of Lu said: "I study the Way of the former kings and cultivate the work of the former rulers; I revere the spirits and honor the worthy, and practice them myself without leaving my post for a moment; yet I cannot avoid trouble, and so I am worried."

市南子曰：「君之除患之術淺矣！夫豐狐文豹，棲於山林，伏於巖穴，靜也；夜行晝居，戒也；雖飢渴隱約，猶旦胥疏於江湖之上而求食焉，定也；然且不免於罔羅機闢之患。是何罪之有哉？其皮為之災也。今魯國獨非君之皮邪？吾願君刳形去皮，灑心去欲，而遊於無人之野。南越有邑焉，名為建德之國。其民愚而樸，少私而寡慾；知作而不知藏，與而不求其報；不知義之所適，不知禮之所將。猖狂妄行，乃蹈乎大方。其生可樂，其死可葬。吾願君去國捐俗，與道相輔而行。」

Master Shinan said: "Your Lordship's art of removing trouble is shallow! The sleek fox and the patterned leopard live in mountain forests and lie hidden in caves: that is stillness; they go out at night and stay in by day: that is caution; even when hungry, thirsty, and in distress, they still keep far away and go to the rivers and lakes to find food: that is steadiness; yet they cannot avoid the trouble of nets and traps. What is their offense? It is their skin that brings them disaster. Is not the state of Lu your Lordship's skin? I wish Your Lordship would cut away your form and strip off your skin, wash your heart and remove desire, and roam in a wilderness where there are no people. In Southern Yue there is a town called the Land of Established Virtue. Its people are simple and plain, with little selfishness and few desires; they know how to work but not how to store up, they give without seeking return; they do not know what righteousness suits or what ritual is to be practiced. They roam wildly and freely, yet tread on the great square. In life they can be happy, and in death they can be buried. I wish Your Lordship would leave the state, cast away custom, and travel in step with the Way."

君曰：「彼其道遠而險，又有江山，我無舟車，柰何？」

The Marquis said: "The road there is long and dangerous, and there are rivers and mountains, and I have no boat or carriage; what shall I do?"

市南子曰：「君無形倨，無畱居，以為君車。」

Master Shinan said: "Do not be proud of your form, do not linger where you dwell; take these as your carriage."

君曰：「彼其道幽遠而無人，吾誰與為鄰？吾無糧，我無食，安得而至焉？」

The Marquis said: "The road there is remote and without people; whom shall I have as neighbors? I have no grain and no food; how can I get there?"

市南子曰：「少君之費，寡君之慾，雖無糧而乃足。君其涉於江而浮於海，望之而不見其崖，愈往而不知其所窮。送君者皆自崖而反。君自此遠矣！故有人者累，見有於人者憂。故堯非有人，非見有於人也。吾願去君之累，除君之憂，而獨與道遊於大莫之國。方舟而濟於河，有虛船來觸舟，雖有惼心之人不怒；有一人在其上，則呼張歙之；一呼而不聞，再呼而不聞，於是三呼邪，則必以惡聲隨之。向也不怒而今也怒，向也虛而今也實。人能虛己以遊世，其孰能害之！」

Master Shinan said: "Reduce your expenses and reduce your desires, and even without grain you will have enough. You will cross the river and float on the sea, and looking you will not see the shore, and the farther you go, the less you will know where it ends. Those who see you off will all return from the shore. Your Lordship will be far away from here! Therefore one who possesses others is burdened, and one who is possessed by others is troubled. So Yao did not possess others and was not possessed by others. I wish to remove Your Lordship's burden and take away your trouble, and have you roam alone with the Way in the Land of Great Emptiness. When two boats are lashed together to cross a river, and an empty boat bumps into one, even a man of narrow heart will not be angry; but if there is a person in that boat, one shouts for him to pull away or draw close; if shouted once and he does not hear, shouted again and he does not hear, then the third time there will surely be harsh words. Before, not angry, and now angry; before, empty, and now full. If a person can empty himself to roam through the world, who can harm him!"

北宮奢為衞靈公賦斂以為鐘，為壇乎郭門之外。三月而成上下之縣。

Bei Gong She levied taxes for Duke Ling of Wei in order to make bells, and built an altar outside the outer gate. In three months he completed the upper and lower bell frames.

王子慶忌見而問焉，曰：「子何術之設？」

Prince Qingji saw him and asked: "What art did you apply?"

奢曰：「一之閒，無敢設也。奢聞之，『既彫既琢，復歸於樸。』侗乎其無識，儻乎其怠疑；萃乎芒乎，其送往而迎來；來者勿禁，往者勿止；從其強梁，隨其曲(傳)[傅]，因其自窮。故朝夕賦斂而毫毛不挫，而況有大塗者乎！」

She said: "Within the One, I dare not apply any. I have heard: 'Once carved and polished, return to plainness.' Be blank as if without knowledge, be vague as if lazy and hesitant; gather and yet be dim, send off the departing and greet the arriving; do not forbid what comes, do not stop what goes; go along with the strong and aggressive, follow the bending and flexible (the source text has "chuan", corrected here to "fu"), and by their own nature let them exhaust themselves. So I levy taxes morning and evening without a hair being harmed, how much more one who has a great road!"

孔子圍於陳蔡之間，七日不火食。

Confucius was besieged between Chen and Cai, and for seven days had no cooked food.

大公任往弔之，曰：「子幾死乎？」曰：「然。」

Grand Duke Ren came to condole with him and said: "Are you nearly dead?" He said: "Yes."

「子惡死乎？」曰：「然。」

"Do you hate dying?" He said: "Yes."

任曰：「予嘗言不死之道。東海有鳥焉，其名曰意怠。其為鳥也，翂翂翐翐，而似無能；引援而飛，迫脅而棲；進不敢為前，退不敢為後；食不敢先嘗，必取其緒。是故其行列不斥，而外人卒不得害，是以免於患。直木先伐，甘井先竭。子其意者飾知以驚愚，修身以明汙，昭昭乎如揭日月而行，故不免也。昔吾聞之大成之人曰：『自伐者無功，功成者墮，名成者虧。』孰能去功與名而還與眾人！道流而不明，居得行而不名處；純純常常，乃比於狂；削跡捐勢，不為功名。是故無責於人，人亦無責焉。至人不聞，子何喜哉？」

Ren said: "Let me try to tell you of the Way of not dying. In the Eastern Sea there is a bird named Yidai. As a bird, it flies slowly and low, as if without ability; it flies drawing others along and perches crowded together; in going forward it does not dare to be in front, in going back it does not dare to be behind; in eating it does not dare to taste first, and must take the leftovers. Therefore its ranks do not exclude it, and outsiders can never harm it, and so it avoids trouble. The straight tree is felled first, the sweet well runs dry first. Your idea is probably to adorn knowledge to frighten the foolish and cultivate yourself to show up others' filth, brightly as if walking carrying the sun and moon; therefore you cannot avoid it. Formerly I heard a man of great accomplishment say: 'One who boasts has no merit; one whose merit is complete falls; one whose name is complete is diminished.' Who can remove merit and fame and return them to the multitude! The Way flows without making its dwelling manifest, and has gains in action without dwelling on fame; being pure and constant, one is compared to a madman; cut away traces and cast off power, and do not work for merit and fame. Therefore one does not blame others, and others do not blame him. The perfect man does not seek renown; why do you delight in it?"

孔子曰：「善哉！」辭其交遊，去其弟子，逃於大澤；衣裘褐，食杼栗；入獸不亂群，入鳥不亂行。鳥獸不惡，而況人乎！

Confucius said: "Good!" He took leave of his friends, left his disciples, and fled to the great marsh; he wore fur and coarse cloth and ate acorns and chestnuts; entering a herd of beasts he did not disturb the herd, and entering a flock of birds he did not disturb the ranks. Birds and beasts did not dislike him, how much less people!

孔子問子桑雽曰：「吾再逐於魯，伐樹於宋，削跡於衞，窮於商周，圍於陳蔡之間。吾犯此數患，親交益疏，徙友益散，何與？」

Confucius asked Sangyu Hu: "I was twice driven out in Lu, had a tree cut down over me in Song, had my traces wiped out in Wei, was reduced to hardship in Shang and Zhou, and was besieged between Chen and Cai. I met with these several troubles, and my close friends grew more distant and my companions who moved with me scattered more; why?"

子桑雽曰：「子獨不聞假人之亡與？林回棄千金之璧，負赤子而趨。或曰：『為其布與？赤子之布寡矣；為其累與？赤子之累多矣；棄千金之璧，負赤子而趨，何也？』林回曰：『彼以利合，此以天屬也。』夫以利合者，迫窮禍患害相棄也；以天屬者，迫窮禍患害相收也。夫相收之與相棄亦遠矣，且君子之交淡若水，小人之交甘若醴；君子淡以親，小人甘以絕。彼無故以合者，則無故以離。」

Sangyu Hu said: "Have you not heard of the flight of the men of Jia? Lin Hui discarded a jade disc worth a thousand in gold and ran carrying a baby on his back. Someone said: 'Was it for money? The baby's value is small. Was it for the burden? The baby's burden is great. Why discard a jade disc worth a thousand in gold and run carrying a baby?' Lin Hui said: 'That one was joined by profit; this one belongs to me by Heaven.' Those joined by profit abandon each other when pressed by hardship, disaster, and harm; those who belong to each other by Heaven take each other in when pressed by hardship, disaster, and harm. Taking each other in and abandoning each other are far apart. Moreover, the friendship of the gentleman is as plain as water, and the friendship of the petty man is as sweet as sweet wine; the gentleman's is plain but close, the petty man's is sweet but breaks off. What joins without a reason will separate without a reason."

孔子曰：「敬聞命矣！」徐行翔佯而歸，絕學捐書，弟子無挹於前，其愛益加進。

Confucius said: "I respectfully hear your instruction!" He walked slowly, strolling back, gave up learning and cast away his books, and no disciples bowed before him, yet his love for them grew all the more.

異日，桑雽又曰：「舜之將死，真泠禹曰：『汝戒之哉！形莫若緣，情莫若率。緣則不離，率則不勞；不離不勞，則不求文以待形；不求文以待形，固不待物。』」

After some days, Sangyu said again: "When Shun was about to die, he warned Yu: 'Be on your guard! Form is not as good as accommodation, feeling is not as good as following. Accommodate and you do not separate; follow and you do not tire; not separating and not tiring, you do not seek adornment to deal with the form; not seeking adornment to deal with the form, you originally do not depend on things.'"

莊子衣大布而補之，正緳係履而過魏王。魏王曰：「何先生之憊邪？」

Zhuangzi, wearing coarse cloth that was patched, tidied his belt and tied his shoes and went to see the King of Wei. The King of Wei said: "Why are you so weary, sir?"

莊子曰：「貧也，非憊也。士有道德不能行，憊也；衣弊履穿，貧也，非憊也；此所謂非遭時也。王獨不見夫騰猿乎？其得柟梓豫章也，攬蔓其枝而王長其間，雖羿、蓬蒙不能眄睨也。及其得柘棘枳枸之間也，危行側視，振動悼慄；此筋骨非有加急而不柔也，處勢不便，未足以逞其能也。今處昏上亂相之間，而欲無憊，奚可得邪？此比干之見剖心徵也夫！」

Zhuangzi said: "This is poverty, not weariness. A man with the Way and virtue who cannot practice them is weary; torn clothes and worn-out shoes are poverty, not weariness; this is called not meeting the right time. Has Your Majesty not seen the leaping monkey? When it gets a nanzi tree or a camphor tree, it clambers on the branches and vines and reigns as king and chief among them, and even Yi and Pengmeng could not look askance at it. But when it falls among the thorny mulberry, trifoliate orange, and bent trees, it walks carefully and looks sideways, trembling and shaking; this is not that its sinews and bones have tightened and lost their suppleness, but that its situation is inconvenient and does not allow it to display its ability. Now living between a benighted ruler and a chaotic minister, to wish not to be weary, how could it be possible? This is demonstrated by Bi Gan having his heart cut out!" (Here "gan" in "Bi Gan" is a personal name, not 'interfere'.)

孔子窮於陳蔡之間，七日不火食，左據槁木，右擊槁枝，而歌猋氏之風，有其具而無其數，有其聲而無宮角，木聲與人聲，犁然有當於人之心。

Confucius was in distress between Chen and Cai, with no cooked food for seven days; with his left hand he leaned on a dry tree and with his right hand he tapped a dry branch, singing the folk song of Biaoshi, with an instrument but no counted rhythm, with sound but no gong or jue notes, the sound of wood and the sound of man, so clear that it hit the heart exactly.

顏回端拱還目而窺之。仲尼恐其廣己而造大也，愛己而造哀也，曰：「回，無受天損易，無受人益難。無始而非卒也，人與天一也。夫今之歌者其誰乎？」

Yan Hui stood properly with folded hands and turned his eyes to peek. Confucius feared that he would enlarge himself and make greatness, or love himself and make sorrow, and said: "Hui, to not receive loss from Heaven is easy; to not receive gain from man is hard. What has no beginning is not an end; man and Heaven are one. Who is it that is singing now?"

回曰：「敢問無受天損易。」

Hui said: "May I ask how not receiving loss from Heaven is easy."

仲尼曰：「飢渴寒暑，窮桎不行，天地之行也，運物之洩也，言與之偕逝之謂也。為人臣者，不敢去之。執臣之道猶若是，而況乎所以待天乎！」

Confucius said: "Hunger, thirst, cold, heat, hardship, and fetters that stop one from walking are the movement of Heaven and Earth and the venting of the turning of things; this means passing away with them. A minister does not dare leave them. If holding to the way of a minister is already like this, how much more in dealing with Heaven!"

「何謂無受人益難？」

"What is meant by not receiving gain from man being hard?"

仲尼曰：「始用四達，爵祿並至而不窮，物之所利，乃非己也，吾命其在外者也。君子不為盜，賢人不為竊。吾若取之，何哉！故曰，鳥莫知於鷾鴯，目之所不宜處不給視，雖落其實，棄之而走。其畏人也，而襲諸人間。社稷存焉爾。」

Confucius said: "When one is first employed, one is successful in all directions, rank and salary all arrive without end, and the benefits given by things are not one's own but my fate located outside. The gentleman does not steal and the worthy does not pilfer. If I took them, what for! So it is said, no bird is wiser than the swallow: places that its eyes are not suited to it does not even look at, and even if a fruit falls, it drops it and runs away. It fears people, yet enters their dwellings. The altars of soil and grain exist here."

「何謂無始而非卒？」

"What is meant by what has no beginning is not an end?"

仲尼曰：「化其萬物而不知其禪之者，焉知其所終？焉知其所始？正而待之而已耳。」

Confucius said: "Transforming the myriad things without knowing what replaces it, how can one know its end? How can one know its beginning? One just waits for it upright."

「何謂人與天一邪？」

"What is meant by man and Heaven being one?"

仲尼曰：「有人，天也；有天，亦天也。人之不能有天，性也，聖人晏然體逝而終矣！」

Confucius said: "That there is man is Heaven; that there is Heaven is also Heaven. That man cannot possess Heaven is nature; the sage calmly recognizes and passes away and reaches the end!"

莊周遊於雕陵之樊，覩一異鵲自南方來者，翼廣七尺，目大運寸，感周之顙而集於栗林。莊周曰：「此何鳥哉，翼殷不逝，目大不覩？」蹇裳躩步，執彈而留之。覩一蟬，方得美蔭而忘其身；螳螂執翳而搏之，見得而忘其形；異鵲從而利之，見利而忘其真。莊周怵然曰：「噫！物固相累，二類相召也。」捐彈而反走，虞人逐而誶之。

Zhuang Zhou was roaming in the fenced park of Diaoling, and saw a strange magpie come from the south, with a wingspan of seven feet and eyes an inch across, which brushed Zhou's forehead and perched in a chestnut grove. Zhuang Zhou said: "What bird is this, with great wings that do not fly away and large eyes that do not see?" He lifted his robes and hurried forward, holding a slingshot to wait for it. He saw a cicada, which had just found a fine shade and forgotten itself; a mantis raised its arm to seize it, and, seeing what it was about to gain, forgot its own form; the strange magpie followed to take advantage, and seeing the profit forgot its own truth. Zhuang Zhou was startled and said: "Ah! Things are originally entangled with one another, and two kinds call each other." He threw down the slingshot and ran back, and the park keeper chased and scolded him.

莊周反入，三日不庭。藺且從而問之：「夫子何為頃間甚不庭乎？」

Zhuang Zhou returned and went in, and was unhappy for three days. Lin Ju followed and asked him: "Master, why have you been so unhappy lately?"

莊周曰：「吾守形而忘身，觀於濁水而迷於清淵。且吾聞諸夫子曰：『入其俗，從其(俗)[令]。』今吾遊於雕陵而忘吾身，異鵲感吾顙，遊於栗林而忘真，栗林虞人以吾為戮，吾所以不庭也。」

Zhuang Zhou said: "I kept to form and forgot my body; I watched muddy water and lost myself in a clear pool. Moreover I heard the Master say: 'When you enter a place, follow its rules.' (The source text has "custom", corrected to "rules".) Now I roamed in Diaoling and forgot my body, the strange magpie brushed my forehead, I roamed in the chestnut grove and forgot the truth, and the park keeper of the chestnut grove took me as an insult; this is why I was unhappy."

陽子之宋，宿於逆旅。逆旅人有妾二人，其一人美，其一人惡，惡者貴而美者賤。陽子問其故，逆旅小子對曰：「其美者自美，吾不知其美也；其惡者自惡，吾不知其惡也。」

Yangzi went to Song and lodged at an inn. The innkeeper had two concubines, one beautiful and one ugly; the ugly one was honored and the beautiful one was despised. Yangzi asked the reason, and the inn's servant boy answered: "The beautiful one thinks herself beautiful, and I do not know that she is beautiful; the ugly one thinks herself ugly, and I do not know that she is ugly."

陽子曰：「弟子記之：行賢而去自賢之行，安往而不愛哉！」

Yangzi said: "Disciples, remember: act worthily and remove the conduct of thinking yourself worthy, and where will you go and not be loved!"