Zhuangzi 莊子
《天下》 Tian Xia
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《天下》 Tian Xia天下之治方術者多矣，皆以其有為不可加矣。古之所謂道術者，果惡乎在？曰：「無乎不在。」曰：「神何由降？明何由出？」「聖有所生，王有所成，皆原於一。」
The methods employed in the regulation of the world are many; and (the employers of them) think each that the efficiency of his own method leaves nothing to be added to it. But where is what was called of old 'the method of the Dao?' We must reply, 'It is everywhere.' But then whence does the spiritual in it come down? and whence does the intelligence in it come forth? There is that which gives birth to the Sage, and that which gives his perfection to the King: the origin of both is the One.
不離於宗，謂之天人。不離於精，謂之神人。不離於真，謂之至人。以天為宗，以德為本，以道為門，兆於變化，謂之聖人。以仁為恩，以義為理，以禮為行，以樂為和，薰然慈仁，謂之君子。以法為分，以名為表，以參為驗，以稽為決，其數一二三四是也。百官以此相齒，以事為常，以衣食為主，蕃息畜藏，老弱孤寡為意，皆有以養，民之理也。
Not to be separate from his primal source constitutes what we call the Heavenly man; not to be separate from the essential nature thereof constitutes what we call the Spirit-like man; not to be separate from its real truth constitutes what we call the Perfect man. To regard Heaven as his primal Source, Its Attributes as the Root (of his nature), and the Dao as the Gate (by which he enters into this inheritance), (knowing also) the prognostics given in change and transformation, constitutes what we call the Sagely man. To regard benevolence as (the source of all) kindness, righteousness as (the source of all) distinctions, propriety as (the rule of) all conduct, and music as (the idea of) all harmony, thus diffusing a fragrance of gentleness and goodness, constitutes what we call the Superior man. To regard laws as assigning the different (social) conditions, their names as the outward expression (of the social duties), the comparison of subjects as supplying the grounds of evidence, investigation as conducting to certainty, so that things can be numbered as first, second, third, fourth (and so on): (this is the basis of government). Its hundred offices are thus arranged; business has its regular course; the great matters of clothes and food are provided for; cattle are fattened and looked after; the (government) stores are filled; the old and weak, orphans and solitaries, receive anxious consideration: in all these ways is provision made for the nourishment of the people.
古之人其備乎！配神明，醇天地，育萬物，和天下，澤及百姓，明於本數，係於末度，六通四辟，小大精粗，其運無乎不在。其明而在數度者，舊法世傳之史尚多有之。其在於《詩》、《書》、《禮》、《樂》者，鄒、魯之士、搢紳先生多能明之。《詩》以道志，《書》以道事，《禮》以道行，《樂》以道和，《易》以道陰陽，《春秋》以道名分。其數散於天下而設於中國者，百家之學時或稱而道之。
How complete was (the operation of the Dao) in the men of old! It made them the equals of spiritual beings, and subtle and all-embracing as heaven and earth. They nourished all things, and produced harmony all under heaven. Their beneficent influence reached to all classes of the people. They understood all fundamental principles, and followed them out to their graduated issues; in all the six directions went their penetration, and in the four quarters all things were open to them. Great and small, fine and coarse - all felt their presence and operation. Their intelligence, as seen in all their regulations, was handed down from age to age in their old laws, and much of it was still to be found in the Historians. What of it was in the Shi, the Shu, the Li, and the Yue, might be learned from the scholars of Zou and Lu, and the girdled members of the various courts. The Shi describes what should be the aim of the mind; the Shu, the course of events; the Li is intended to direct the conduct; the Yue, to set forth harmony; the Yi, to show the action of the Yin and Yang; and the Chun Qiu, to display names and the duties belonging to them. Some of the regulations (of these men of old), scattered all under heaven, and established in our Middle states, are (also) occasionally mentioned and described in the writings of the different schools.
天下大亂，賢聖不明，道德不一，天下多得一察焉以自好。譬如耳目鼻口，皆有所明，不能相通。猶百家眾技也，皆有所長，時有所用。雖然，不該不遍，一曲之士也。判天地之美，析萬物之理，察古人之全，寡能備於天地之美，稱神明之容。是故內聖外王之道，闇而不明，鬱而不發，天下之人各為其所欲焉以自為方。悲夫！百家往而不反，必不合矣。後世之學者，不幸不見天地之純，古人之大體，道術將為天下裂。
There ensued great disorder in the world, and sages and worthies no longer shed their light on it. The Dao and its characteristics ceased to be regarded as uniform. Many in different places got one glimpse of it, and plumed themselves on possessing it as a whole. They might be compared to the ear, the eye, the nose, or the mouth. Each sense has its own faculty, but their different faculties cannot be interchanged. So it was with the many branches of the various schools. Each had its peculiar excellence, and there was the time for the use of it; but notwithstanding no one covered or extended over the whole (range of truth). The case was that of the scholar of a corner who passes his judgment on all the beautiful in heaven and earth, discriminates the principles that underlie all things, and attempts to estimate the success arrived at by the ancients. Seldom is it that such an one can embrace all the beautiful in heaven and earth, or rightly estimate the ways of the spiritual and intelligent; and thus it was that the Dao, which inwardly forms the sage and externally the king, became obscured and lost its clearness, became repressed and lost its development. Every one in the world did whatever he wished, and was the rule to himself. Alas! the various schools held on their several ways, and could not come back to the same point, nor agree together. The students of that later age unfortunately did not see the undivided purity of heaven and earth, and the great scheme of truth held by the ancients. The system of the Dao was about to be torn in fragments all under a the sky.
不侈於後世，不靡於萬物，不暉於數度，以繩墨自矯，而備世之急，古之道術有在於是者。墨翟、禽滑釐聞其風而說之。為之大過，己之大循。作為《非樂》，命之曰《節用》，生不歌，死無服。墨子汎愛兼利而非鬥，其道不怒；又好學而博，不異，不與先王同，毀古之禮樂。
To leave no example of extravagance to future generations; to show no wastefulness in the use of anything; to make no display in the degree of their (ceremonial) observances; to keep themselves (in their expenditure) under the restraint of strict and exact rule, so as to be prepared for occurring emergencies - such regulations formed part of the system of the Dao in antiquity, and were appreciated by Mo Di, and (his disciple) Qin Hua-li. When they heard of such ways, they were delighted with them; but they enjoined them in excess, and followed them themselves too strictly. (Mo) made the treatise 'Against Music,' and enjoined the subject of another, called 'Economy in Expenditure,' on his followers. He would have no singing in life, and no wearing of mourning on occasions of death. He inculcated Universal Love, and a Common Participation in all advantages, and condemned Fighting. His doctrine did not admit of Anger. He was fond also of Learning, and with it all strove not to appear different from others. Yet he did not agree with the former kings, but attacked the ceremonies and music of the ancients.
黃帝有《咸池》，堯有《大章》，舜有《大韶》，禹有《大夏》，湯有《大濩》，文王有辟雍之樂，武王、周公作《武》。古之喪禮，貴賤有儀，上下有等，天子棺槨七重，諸侯五重，大夫三重，士再重。今墨子獨生不歌，死不服，桐棺三寸而無槨，以為法式。以此教人，恐不愛人；以此自行，固不愛己。未敗墨子道，雖然，歌而非歌，哭而非哭，樂而非樂，是果類乎？其生也勤，其死也薄，其道大觳，使人憂，使人悲，其行難為也，恐其不可以為聖人之道，反天下之心，天下不堪。墨子雖能獨任，奈天下何！離於天下，其去王也遠矣。
Huang-Di had his Xian-chi; Yao, his Da Zhang; Shun, his Da Shao; Yu, his Da Xia; Tang, his Da Hu; King Wen, his music of the Pi-yong; and king Wu and the duke of Zhou made the Wu. In the mourning rites of the ancients, the noble and mean had their several observances, the high and low their different degrees. The coffin of the Son of Heaven was sevenfold; of a feudal lord, fivefold; of a great officer, threefold; of other officers, twofold. But now Mo-zi alone, would have no singing during life, and no wearing of mourning after death. As the rule for all, he would have a coffin of elaeococca wood, three inches thick, and without any enclosing shell. The teaching of such lessons cannot be regarded as affording a proof of his love for men; his practising them in his own case would certainly show that he did not love himself; but this has not been sufficient to overthrow the views of Mo-zi. Notwithstanding, men will sing, and he condemns singing; men will wail, and he condemns wailing; men will express their joy, and he condemns such expression: is this truly in accordance with man's nature? Through life toil, and at death niggardliness: his way is one of great unkindliness. Causing men sorrow and melancholy, and difficult to be carried into practice, I fear it cannot be regarded as the way of a sage. Contrary to the minds of men everywhere, men will not endure it. Though Mo-zi himself might be able to endure it, how can the aversion of the world to it be overcome? The world averse to it, it must be far from the way of the (ancient) kings.
墨子稱道曰：「昔者禹之湮洪水，決江河而通四夷九州也，名山三百，支川三千，小者無數。禹親自操稿耜而九雜天下之川，腓無胈，脛無毛，沐甚雨，櫛疾風，置萬國。禹，大聖也，而形勞天下也如此。」使後世之墨者多以裘褐為衣，以跂蹻為服，日夜不休，以自苦為極，曰：「不能如此，非禹之道也，不足謂墨。」相里勤之弟子五侯之徒，南方之墨者苦獲、已齒、鄧陵子之屬，俱誦《墨經》，而倍譎不同，相謂別墨，以堅白、同異之辯相訾，以觭偶不仵之辭相應，以巨子為聖人，皆願為之尸，冀得為其後世，至今不決。
Mo-zi, in praise of his views, said, 'Anciently, when Yu was draining off the waters of the flood, he set free the channels of the Jiang and the He, and opened communications with them from the regions of the four Yi and the nine provinces. The famous hills with which he dealt were 300, the branch streams were 3000, and the smaller ones innumerable. With his own hands he carried the sack and wielded the spade, till he had united all the streams of the country (conducting them to the sea). There was no hair left on his legs from the knee to the ankle. He bathed his hair in the violent wind, and combed it in the pelting rain, thus marking out the myriad states. Yu was a great sage, and thus he toiled in the service of the world.' The effect of this is that in this later time most of the Mohists wear skins and dolychos cloth, with shoes of wood or twisted hemp, not stopping day or night, but considering such toiling on their part as their highest achievement. They say that he who cannot do this is acting contrary to the way of Yu, and not fit to be a Mohist. The disciples of Qin of Xiang-li, the followers of the various feudal lords; and Mohists of the south, such as Ku Huo, Ji Chi, and Zheng Ling-zi, all repeated the texts of Mo, but they differed in the objections which they offered to them, and in their deceitful glosses they called one another Mohists of different schools. They had their disputations, turning on 'what was hard,' and 'what was white,' what constituted 'sameness' and what 'difference,' and their expressions about the difference between 'the odd' and 'the even,' with which they answered one another. They regarded their most distinguished member as a sage, and wished to make him their chief, hoping that he would be handed down as such to future ages. To the present day these controversies are not determined.
墨翟、禽滑釐之意則是，其行則非也。將使後世之墨者必自苦以腓無胈、脛無毛，相進而已矣。亂之上也，治之下也。雖然，墨子真天下之好也，將求之不得也，雖枯槁不舍也，才士也！
The idea of Mo Di and Qin Hua-li was good, but their practice was wrong. They would have made the Mohists of future ages feel it necessary to toil themselves, till there was not a hair on their legs, and still be urging one another on; (thus producing a condition) superior indeed to disorder, but inferior to the result of good government. Nevertheless, Mo-zi was indeed one of the best men in the world, which you may search without finding his equal. Decayed and worn (his person) might be, but he is not to be rejected - a scholar of ability indeed!
夫不累於俗，不飾於物，不苟於人，不忮於眾，願天下之安寧以活民命，人我之養畢足而止，以此白心，古之道術有在於是者。宋鈃、尹文聞其風而悅之。作為華山之冠以自表，接萬物以別宥為始。語心之容，命之曰心之行，以聏合驩，以調海內，請欲置之以為主。見侮不辱，救民之鬥；禁攻寢兵，救世之戰。以此周行天下，上說下教，雖天下不取，強聒而不舍者也。故曰：「上下見厭而強見也。」雖然，其為人太多，其自為太少，曰：「請欲固置五升之飯足矣，先生恐不得飽，弟子雖飢，不忘天下。」日夜不休，曰：「我必得活哉！」圖傲乎救世之士哉！曰：「君子不為苛察，不以身假物。」以為無益於天下者，明之不如已也。以禁攻寢兵為外，以情欲寡淺為內，其小大精粗，其行適至是而止。
Tian Xia:
To keep from being entangled by prevailing customs; to shun all ornamental attractions in one's self; not to be reckless in his conduct to others; not to set himself stubbornly against a multitude; to desire the peace and repose of the world in order to preserve the lives of the people; and to cease his action when enough had been obtained for the nourishment of others and himself, showing that this was the aim of his mind - such a scheme belonged to the system of the Dao in antiquity, and it was appreciated by Song Xing and Yin Wen. When they heard of such ways, they were delighted with them. They made the Hua-shan cap, and wore it as their distinguishing badge. In their intercourse with others, whatever their differences might be, they began by being indulgent to them. Their name for 'the Forbearance of the Mind' was 'the Action of the Mind.' By the warmth of affection they sought the harmony of joy, and to blend together all within the four seas; and their wish was to plant this everywhere as the chief thing to be pursued. They endured insult without feeling it a disgrace; they sought to save the people from fighting; they forbade aggression and sought to hush the weapons of strife, to save their age from war. In this way they went everywhere, counselling the high and instructing the low. Though the world might not receive them, they only insisted on their object the more strongly, and would not abandon it. Hence it is said, 'The high and the low might be weary of them, but they were strong to show themselves.' Notwithstanding all this, they acted too much out of regard to others, and too little for themselves. It was as if they said, 'What we request and wish is simply that there may be set down for us five pints of rice - that will be enough.' But I fear the Master would not get his fill from this; and the disciples, though famishing, would still have to be mindful of the world, and, never stopping day or night, have to say, 'Is it necessary I should preserve my life? Shall I scheme how to exalt myself above the master, the saviour of the age?' It was moreover as if they said, 'The superior man does not censoriously scrutinize (the faults of others); he does not borrow from others to supersede his own endeavours; when any think that he is of no use to the world, he knows that their intelligence is inferior to his own; he considers the prohibition of aggression and causing the disuse of arms to be an external achievement, and the making his own desires to be few and slight to be the internal triumph.' Such was their discrimination between the great and the small, the subtle and the coarse; and with the attainment of this they stopped.
公而不當，易而無私，決然無主，趣物而不兩，不顧於慮，不謀於知，於物無擇，與之俱往，古之道術有在於是者。彭蒙、田駢、慎到聞其風而說之。齊萬物以為首，曰：「天能覆之而不能載之，地能載之而不能覆之，大道能包之而不能辯之。」知萬物皆有所可，有所不可，故曰：「選則不遍，教則不至，道則無遺者矣。」是故慎到，棄知去己，而緣不得已，泠汰於物以為道理，曰：「知不知，將薄知而後鄰傷之者也。」謑髁無任而笑天下之尚賢也，縱脫無行而非天下之大聖，椎拍輐斷，與物宛轉，舍是與非，苟可以免，不師知慮，不知前後，魏然而已矣。推而後行，曳而後往，若飄風之還，若羽之旋，若磨石之隧，全而無非，動靜無過，未嘗有罪。是何故？夫無知之物，無建己之患，無用知之累，動靜不離於理，是以終身無譽。故曰：「至於若無知之物而已，無用賢聖，夫塊不失道。」豪桀相與笑之曰：「慎到之道，非生人之行而至死人之理，適得怪焉。」田駢亦然，學於彭蒙，得不教焉。彭蒙之師曰：「古之道人，至於莫之是、莫之非而已矣。其風窢然，惡可而言？」常反人，不見觀，而不免於鯇斷。其所謂道非道，而所言之韙不免於非。彭蒙、田駢、慎到不知道。雖然，概乎皆嘗有聞者也。
Public-spirited, and with nothing of the partizan; easy and compliant, without any selfish partialities; capable of being led, without any positive tendencies; following in the wake of others, without any double mind; not looking round because of anxious thoughts; not scheming in the exercise of their wisdom; not choosing between parties, but going along with all - all such courses belonged to the Daoists of antiquity, and they were appreciated by Peng Meng, Tian Pian, and Shen Dao. When they heard of such ways, they were delighted with them. They considered that the first thing for them to do was to adjust the controversies about different things. They said, 'Heaven can cover, but it cannot sustain; Earth can contain, but it cannot cover. The Great Dao embraces all things, but It does not discriminate between them.'
They knew that all things have what they can do and what they cannot do. Hence it is said, 'If you select, you do not reach all; if you teach some things, you must omit the others; but the Dao neglects none.' Therefore Shen Dao discarded his knowledge and also all thought of himself, acting only where he had no alternative, and pursued it as his course to be indifferent and pure in his dealings with others. He said that the best knowledge was to have no knowledge, and that if we had a little knowledge it was likely to prove a dangerous thing. Conscious of his unfitness, he undertook no charge, and laughed at those who valued ability and virtue. Remiss and evasive, he did nothing, and disallowed the greatest sages which the world had known. Now with a hammer, now with his hand, smoothing all corners, and breaking all bonds, he accommodated himself to all conditions. He disregarded right and wrong, his only concern being to avoid trouble; he learned nothing from the wise and thoughtful, and took no note of the succession of events, thinking only of carrying himself with a lofty disregard of everything. He went where he was pushed, and followed where he was led, like a whirling wind, like a feather tossed about, like the revolutions of a grindstone.
What was the reason that he appeared thus complete, doing nothing wrong? that, whether in motion or at rest, he committed no error, and could be charged with no transgression? Creatures that have no knowledge are free from the troubles that arise from self-assertion and the entanglements that spring from the use of knowledge. Moving and at rest, they do not depart from their proper course, and all their life long they do not receive any praise. Hence (Shen Dao) said, 'Let me come to be like a creature without knowledge. Of what use are the (teachings of the) sages and worthies?' But a clod of earth never fails in the course (proper for it), and men of spirit and eminence laughed together at him, and said, 'The way of Shen Dao does not describe the conduct of living men; that it should be predicable only of the dead is strange indeed!'
It was just the same with Tian Pian. He learned under Peng Meng, but it was as if he were not taught at all. The master of Peng Meng said, 'The Daoist professors of old came no farther than to say that nothing was absolutely right and nothing absolutely wrong.' His spirit was like the breath of an opposing wind; how can it be described in words? But he was always contrary to (the views of) other men, which he would not bring together to view, and he did not escape shaving the corners and bonds (of which I have spoken). What he called the Dao was not the true Dao, and what he called the right was really the wrong. Peng Meng, Tian Pian, and Shen Dao did not in fact know the Dao; but nevertheless they had heard in a general way about it.
以本為精，以物為粗，以有積為不足，澹然獨與神明居，古之道術有在於是者。關尹、老聃聞其風而悅之。建之以常無有，主之以太一，以濡弱謙下為表，以空虛不毀萬物為實。
To take the root (from which things spring) as the essential (part), and the things as its coarse (embodiment); to see deficiency in accumulation; and in the solitude of one's individuality to dwell with the spirit-like and intelligent - such a course belonged to the Dao of antiquity, and it was appreciated by Guan Yin and Lao Dan. When they heard of such ways, they were delighted with them. They built their system on the assumption of an eternal non-existence, and made the ruling idea in it that of the Grand Unity. They made weakness and humility their mark of distinction, and considered that by empty vacuity no injury could be sustained, but all things be preserved in their substantiality.
關尹曰：「在己無居，形物自著。其動若水，其靜若鏡，其應若響。芴乎若亡，寂乎若清，同焉者和，得焉者失。未嘗先人而常隨人。」
Guan Yin says, 'To him who does not dwell in himself the forms of things show themselves as they are. His movement is like that of water; his stillness is like that of a mirror; his response is like that of the echo. His tenuity makes him seem to be disappearing altogether; he is still as a clear (lake), harmonious in his association with others, and he counts gain as loss. He does not take precedence of others, but follows them.'
老聃曰：「知其雄，守其雌，為天下谿；知其白，守其辱，為天下谷。」人皆取先，己獨取後，曰：「受天下之垢。」人皆取實，己獨取虛，無藏也故有餘，巋然而有餘。其行身也，徐而不費，無為也而笑巧。人皆求福，己獨曲全，曰：「苟免於咎。」以深為根，以約為紀，曰：「堅則毀矣，銳則拙矣。」常寬容於物，不削於人，可謂至極。關尹、老聃乎！古之博大真人哉！
Lao Dan says, 'He knows his masculine power, but maintains his female weakness,-- becoming the channel into which all streams flow. He knows his white purity, but keeps his disgrace, becoming the valley of the world. Men all prefer to be first; he alone chooses to be last, saying, "I will receive the offscourings of the world." Men all choose fulness; he alone chooses emptiness. He does not store, and therefore he has a superabundance; he looks solitary, but has a multitude around him. In his conducting of himself he is easy and leisurely and wastes nothing. He does nothing, and laughs at the clever and ingenious. Men all seek for happiness, but he feels complete in his imperfect condition, and says, "Let me only escape blame." He regards what is deepest as his root, and what is most restrictive as his rule; and says, "The strong is broken; the sharp and pointed is blunted." He is always generous and forbearing with others, and does not encroach on any man - this may be pronounced the height (of perfection).' 0 Guan Yin, and Lao Dan, ye were among the greatest men of antiquity; True men indeed!
芴漠無形，變化無常，死與生與！天地並與！神明往與！芒乎何之？忽乎何適？萬物畢羅，莫足以歸，古之道術有在於是者。莊周聞其風而悅之。以謬悠之說，荒唐之言，無端崖之辭，時恣縱而不儻，不以觭見之也。以天下為沈濁，不可與莊語；以卮言為曼衍，以重言為真，以寓言為廣。獨與天地精神往來，而不敖倪於萬物，不譴是非，以與世俗處。其書雖瑰瑋而連犿無傷也，其辭雖參差而諔詭可觀。彼其充實不可以已，上與造物者遊，而下與外死生、無終始者為友。其於本也，宏大而辟，深閎而肆；其於宗也，可謂稠適而上遂矣。雖然，其應於化而解於物也，其理不竭，其來不蛻，芒乎昧乎，未之盡者。
That the shadowy and still is without bodily form; that change and transformation are ever proceeding, but incapable of being determined. What is death? What is life? What is meant by the union of Heaven and Earth? Does the spiritual intelligence go away? Shadowy, where does it go? Subtle, whither does it proceed? All things being arranged as they are, there is no one place which can be fitly ascribed to it. Such were the questions belonging to the scheme of Dao in antiquity, and they were appreciated by Zhuang Zhou. When he heard of such subjects, he was delighted with them. (He discussed them), using strange and mystical expressions, wild and extravagant words, and phrases to which no definite meaning could be assigned. He constantly indulged his own wayward ideas, but did not make himself a partisan, nor look at them as peculiar to himself. Considering that men were sunk in stupidity and could not be talked to in dignified style, he employed the words of the cup of endless application, with important quotations to substantiate the truth, and an abundance of corroborative illustrations. He chiefly cared to occupy himself with the spirit-like operation of heaven and earth, and did not try to rise above the myriads of things. He did not condemn the agreements and differences of others, so that he might live in peace with the prevalent views. Though his writings may seem to be sparkling trifles, there is no harm in amusing one's self with them; though his phraseology be ever-varying, its turns and changes are worth being looked at - the fulness and completeness of his ideas cannot be exhausted. Above he seeks delight in the Maker; below, he has a friendly regard to those who consider life and death as having neither beginning nor end. As regards his dealing with the Root (origin of all things), he is comprehensive and great, opening up new views, deep, vast, and free. As regards the Author and Master (the Great Dao Itself), be may be pronounced exact and correct, carrying our thoughts to range and play on high. Nevertheless on the subject of transformation, and the emancipation of that from (the thraldom of) things, his principles are inexhaustible, and are not derived from his predecessors. They are subtle and obscure, and cannot be fully explained.
惠施多方，其書五車，其道舛駁，其言也不中。歷物之意，曰：「至大無外，謂之大一；至小無內，謂之小一。無厚不可積也，其大千里。天與地卑，山與澤平。日方中方睨，物方生方死。大同而與小同異，此之謂小同異；萬物畢同畢異，此之謂大同異。南方無窮而有窮，今日適越而昔來。連環可解也。我知天下之中央，燕之北，越之南是也。氾愛萬物，天地一體也。」
Hui Shi had many ingenious notions. His writings would fill five carriages; but his doctrines were erroneous and contradictory, and his words were wide of their mark. Taking up one thing after another, he would say: 'That which is so great that there is nothing outside it may be called the Great One; and that which is so small that there is nothing inside it maybe called the Small One.' 'What has no thickness and will not admit of being repeated is 1000 li in size.' 'Heaven may be as low as the earth.' 'A mountain may be as level as a marsh.' ' The sun in the meridian may be the sun declining.' 'A creature may be born to life and may die at the same time.' '(When it is said that) things greatly alike are different from things a little alike, this is what is called making little of agreements and differences; (when it is said that) all things are entirely alike or entirely different, this is what is called making much of agreements and differences.' 'The south is unlimited and yet has a limit.' 'I proceed to Yue to-day and came to it yesterday.' 'Things which are joined together can be separated.' 'I know the centre of the world - it is north of Yan or south of Yue.' 'If all things be regarded with love, heaven and earth are of one body (with me).'
惠施以此為大觀於天下而曉辯者，天下之辯者相與樂之。卵有毛，雞三足，郢有天下，犬可以為羊，馬有卵，丁子有尾，火不熱，山出口，輪不蹍地，目不見，指不至，至不絕，龜長於蛇，矩不方，規不可以為圓，鑿不圍枘，飛鳥之景未嘗動也，鏃矢之疾而有不行不止之時，狗非犬，黃馬、驪牛三，白狗黑，孤駒未嘗有母，一尺之捶，日取其半，萬世不竭。辯者以此與惠施相應，終身無窮。
Hui Shi by such sayings as these made himself very conspicuous throughout the kingdom, and was considered an able debater. All other debaters vied with one another and delighted in similar exhibitions. (They would say), 'There are feathers in an egg.' 'A fowl has three feet.' 'The kingdom belongs to Ying.' 'A dog might have been (called) a sheep.' 'A horse has eggs.' 'A tadpole has a tail.' 'Fire is not hot.' 'A mountain gives forth a voice.' 'A wheel does not tread on the ground.' 'The eye does not see.' 'The finger indicates, but needs not touch, (the object).' 'Where you come to may not be the end.' 'The tortoise is longer than the snake.' 'The carpenter's square is not square.' 'A compass should not itself be round.' 'A chisel does not surround its handle.' 'The shadow of a flying bird does not (itself) move.' 'Swift as the arrowhead is, there is a time when it is neither fiying nor at rest.' 'A dog is not a hound.' 'A bay horse and a black ox are three.' 'A white dog is black.' 'A motherless colt never had a mother.' 'If from a stick a foot long you every day take the half of it, in a myriad ages it will not be exhausted.' - It was in this way that the debaters responded to Hui Shi, all their lifetime, without coming to an end.
桓團、公孫龍辯者之徒，飾人之心，易人之意，能勝人之口，不能服人之心，辯者之囿也。惠施日以其知，與人之辯，特與天下之辯者為怪，此其柢也。
Huan Tuan and Gong-sun Long were true members of this class. By their specious representations they threw a glamour over men's minds and altered their ideas. They vanquished men in argument, but could not subdue their minds, only keeping them in the enclosure of their sophistry. Hui Shi daily used his own knowledge and the arguments of others to propose strange theses to all debaters - such was his practice.
然惠施之口談，自以為最賢，曰：「天地其壯乎！」施存雄而無術。南方有倚人焉，曰黃繚，問天地所以不墜不陷，風雨雷霆之故。惠施不辭而應，不慮而對，遍為萬物說；說而不休，多而無已，猶以為寡，益之以怪。以反人為實，而欲以勝人為名，是以與眾不適也。弱於德，強於物，其塗隩矣。由天地之道觀惠施之能，其猶一蚉一虻之勞者也，其於物也何庸！夫充一尚可，曰愈貴，道幾矣！惠施不能以此自寧，散於萬物而不厭，卒以善辯為名。惜乎！惠施之才，駘蕩而不得，逐萬物而不反，是窮響以聲，形與影競走也。悲夫！
At the same time he would talk freely of himself, thinking himself the ablest among them, and saying, 'In heaven or earth who is my match?' Shi maintained indeed his masculine energy, but he had not the art (of controversy). In the south there was a man of extraordinary views, named Huang Liao, who asked him how it was that the sky did not fall nor the earth sink, and what was the cause of wind, rain, and the thunder's roll and crash. Shi made no attempt to evade the questions, and answered him without any exercise of thought, talking about all things, without pause, on and on without end; yet still thinking that his words were few, and adding to them the strangest observations. He thought that to contradict others was a real triumph, and wished to make himself famous by overcoming them; and on this account he was not liked by the multitude of debaters. He was weak in real attainment, though he might seem strong in comparison with others, and his way was narrow and dark. If we look at Hui Shi's ability from the standpoint of Heaven and Earth, it was only like the restless activity of a mosquito or gadfly; of what service was it to anything? To give its full development to any one capacity is a good thing, and he who does so is in the way to a higher estimation of the Dao; but Hui Shi could find no rest for himself in doing this. He diffused himself over the world of things without satiety, till in the end he had only the reputation of being a skilful debater. Alas! Hui Shi, with all his talents, vast as they were, made nothing out; he pursued all subjects and never came back (with success). It was like silencing an echo by his shouting, or running a race with his shadow. Alas!
Source: Chinese Text Project http://ctext.org/zhuangzi, English translation: 'The Writings of Chuang Tzu', James Legge, 1891
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