It means that there is no distinction between useful and useless

1. This sentence comes from "The Human World" and profoundly reflects Zhuangzi's thought of inaction.

Xueyou Expertise and broad knowledge are not contradictory. Broad knowledge often greatly promotes professional learning. Humanistic knowledge, including philosophy, literature, art, aesthetics, etc., are not "useless" as some people say. On the contrary, they are beneficial to nourishing It is of great benefit to cultivate people's hearts, cultivate emotions and inspire inspiration. Bacon once said: "History makes people smart, poetry makes people imaginative, mathematics makes people precise, natural science makes people profound, ethics makes people solemn, logic and rhetoric Learning makes people good at eloquence." If you learn these seemingly "useless" knowledge, gradually accumulate it over time, and it will come into play at the critical moment. As Lao Zhuang said: "Use useless things to make great use."

2. Zhuangzi and his disciples walked to the foot of a mountain and saw a big tree with lush branches and leaves standing beside a stream, which was particularly conspicuous. But look at this tree: it is a hundred feet thick, thousands of feet high, pointing straight into the sky; its crown is as wide as a giant umbrella, and it can cover more than ten acres of land. Zhuangzi couldn't help but ask the woodcutter: "Excuse me, master, how come such a big tree has never been cut down? Why has it grown alone for thousands of years?" The woodcutter seemed to be dismissive of the tree and said, "What's the point of this?" Odd? This tree is a useless wood. If used to make boats, it will sink in the water; if used to make coffins, it will rot quickly; if used to make utensils, it will be damaged; If the liquid does not dry up, it will be easily eaten by insects. This is a wood that is useless. It has no use, so it can have such a long life."

Hearing this. Zhuangzi said to his disciple: "This tree has been able to live its whole life because it has no wood. Isn't it a useless thing, doing nothing but doing something for itself?" The disciple suddenly understood and nodded. Zhuangzi also said: "Trees are useless. They do not seek to do anything and avoid being attacked by axes. White-breasted oxen, arrogant pigs, and people with hemorrhoids are considered unlucky by wizards, so they will not be thrown into the river to worship the river god." A crippled person will not be recruited by the army, so he can live his whole life with a crippled body. How much more can a crippled person with moral integrity and talents be spared from disaster? Zhuangzi became more and more excited as he talked, and concluded: "Mountain trees are self-defeating; cinnamon is self-destructive, so it can be cut; lacquer can be used, so everyone knows its usefulness." , but I don’t know the use of it.”