1. Therefore, it is said that a man is tranquil, lonely, and inactive. This is the peace of heaven and earth, and the quality of morality.

Translation: Therefore, tranquility, loneliness, emptiness, and inaction are the origin of heaven and earth and the highest state of moral cultivation.

2. It refers to being short of money, and the fire is spreading, and you don’t know how to use it up.

Translation: The fat is burned out, but the fire is passed on endlessly. This sentence uses fuel as a metaphor for shape and fire as a metaphor for spirit. The passing of fire after death means that although the body dies, the spirit will last forever. Later, it was used as a metaphor for the transfer of academic knowledge from master to disciple.

3. Great knowledge is leisurely, but small knowledge is momentary; big words are arrogant, but small words are zhanzhan.

Translation: The wisest people always show an open-minded and generous attitude; people with little talent always like to worry about trivial rights and wrongs. Speeches that are in line with the Dao are as powerful as a prairie fire, both beautiful and grand, making people feel convinced after hearing them. Those clever remarks are trivial and full of nonsense.

4. If you beat a foot, you will get half of it in a day, and it will last forever.

Translation: If you cut off half of a foot-long whip every day, you will never be able to finish it. Matter is infinitely divisible.

5. I don’t know that Zhou’s dream is Hu Dieyu, and Hu Die’s dream is Zhou Yu?

Translation: I wonder if Zhuang Zhou turned into a butterfly in his dream, or if the butterfly turned into Zhuang Zhou in his dream? Zhuangzi spoke from his own experience and believed that dreams and awakening are no different; they are both materialized phenomena of Tao. Therefore, if we want to be consistent with the theory of things, we must first get rid of the idea of ????self and become one with all things.

6. Everyone knows the useful uses, but no one knows the useless ones.

Translation: People all know the uses of usefulness, but they don’t understand the greater use of uselessness.

7. Don’t let things set you back.

Translation: Disturbing one's mind due to external objects (in this way, virtue is gone). Playthings are boring.

8. There is no greater sorrow than the death of a husband, and the death of a human being is also the second most.

Translation: The greatest sorrow is that the heart is as gray as death, the spirit is destroyed, and the death of the human body is still secondary. People need to have some spirit.

9. If you enter the space with no thickness, there will be room for you to be at ease.

Translation: There is no thick ground but there are gaps, so the operation is still generous and there is room for leeway. It explains that things should be done "according to the laws of nature" and "taking advantage of the limited space". This is the core of Zhuangzi's theory of health preservation. At the same time, it explains the need to understand the laws of nature and act in accordance with the laws of nature. The two idioms "a cow with no eyesight" and "with ease" both come from here.

10. Although the cooks do not manage the cooks, the corpses will not pass over the bottles but will be replaced.

Translation: Although the chef does not make the sacrifices, the master of ceremonies who presides over the sacrifices will not go beyond the table of arranging the sacrifices and do it on the chef's behalf. This means that even if the chef fails to perform his duties, the corpse does not have to go beyond the scope of his authority to worship the gods and act on his behalf. It expresses Zhuangzi's thought of governing by doing nothing, and the idiom "Yue Zu Dai Pao" comes from this.

11. Don’t know? People call me Zhu Yu. Zhihu? I am worried about my body. If you are unkind, you will harm others; if you are kind, you will worry about yourself. If you are unjust, you will hurt others; if you are righteous, you will hurt yourself.

Translation: Don’t you know? People say I am stupid. Do you know? Instead, it harms my body. If you fail to practice benevolence, you will harm others; if you practice benevolence, you will harm yourself; if you fail to practice righteousness, you will harm others; if you do righteousness, you will harm yourself.

12. My life has a limit, but my knowledge has no limit. If you are at the end of the world and follow the endless world, it is almost gone; if you have known it for a long time, it is almost gone.

Translation: Human life is limited, but knowledge is infinite. If you want to use your limited life to pursue infinite knowledge, you will feel very tired; if you have to keep pursuing knowledge, you will become even more tired!

13. A bird becomes white without being bathed in the sun, and a bird becomes black without being exposed to the sun.

Translation: The swan does not bathe every day, but its feathers are white; the crow does not bathe in the sun every day, but its feathers are black. All things come from nature and cannot be changed by force.

14. If there is a gap between heaven and earth in life, it will happen suddenly.

Translation: Life between heaven and earth is like seeing a white horse galloping through the gap, but it only lasts for a moment. The idiom "The white horse passes through the gap" comes from this. Life is short, don’t waste it.

15. Those who are sad and happy are the faults of virtue; those who are happy and angry are the faults of the Tao; those who like and dislike are the faults of the heart.

Translation: Sorrow and joy will lead to deviant morality; if one does not forget joy and anger, he will regard the Tao as his fault; if he falls into likes and dislikes, he will lose his morality.

16. The shape is like a haggard corpse, the heart is like death, but you really know it, and you don’t hold on to it.

Translation: The body is like withered bones, and the heart is like dead ashes. True and pure knowledge does not persist in old views.

17. The perfect person has no self, the god has no merit, and the saint has no name.

Translation: The perfect man has eliminated the opposition and distinction between things and me, and there is no more "I". Gods and men obey nature and completely abandon the concept of "merit"; the sage understands the truth and completely abandons it. The shackles of "reputation". Great people are not burdened by ego, achievements, or fame.

18. If a scholar is morally incompetent, he is tired; if his clothes are inappropriate and his shoes are worn, he is poor, but it is not tired. This is not the time of suffering.

Translation: If a person with lofty ideals has moral principles but cannot practice them, he is tired; if his clothes are tattered and his shoes are worn out, it is poverty, not fatigue. This is what is called not experiencing a good world.

19. A filial son does not flatter his relatives, and a loyal minister does not flatter his king. This is the prosperity of ministers and sons.

Translation: A filial son should not flatter his parents, and a virtuous and loyal minister should not flatter his monarch. This is the highest state of being a virtuous minister and a filial son. We lament that worldly flattery has become commonplace, lament that the world is so confused and hopeless, and call for true filial sons and wise ministers.

20. Phase and nothingness are mutuality and mutuality, and mutuality is the same as nothingness.

Translation: Make friends with each other in the absence of friendship, and do something with each other in the inaction. To make friends, friendship should be achieved without intention, and mutual help should be achieved through inaction. This is the "irreconcilable friendship".

21. Now that the great cold has arrived, and the frost and snow have fallen, I know how luxuriant the pines and cypresses are.

Translation: The cold season is here, frost and snow have fallen, and the lushness of pine and cypress trees can be seen even more at this time. "The luxuriance of pines and cypresses" means that a gentleman has high moral character.

22. Those who are famous are the means of conflict; those who know them are the tools of competition. The murder weapons of the two are not so effective.

Translation: Name is the cause of mutual strife; wisdom is the means of mutual struggle. The two are murderous weapons and cannot be used in full force.

23. I am confused about the easy prescription, but I am confused about the easy nature.

Translation: Small confusion can make people go astray, while big confusion can make people lose their true nature. It shows that pure human nature is the natural nature of human beings, while benevolence and righteousness are not only inconsistent with human nature, but also harmful to the world.

24. Use fire to fight fire and water to fight water. This is called more benefit.

Translation: Use fire to put out fire and water to put out water. This will not only fail to correct the problem, but will increase (Wei Jun's) faults. Let’s use the words Confucius taught Yan Hui to illustrate a way of life. This is where the idioms "fighting fire with fire" and "fighting water with water" come from.

25. Mountain trees are invaded by enemies, and burned by fire. Gui is edible, so cut it down; lacquer can be used, so cut it. Everyone knows the uses of useful things, but no one knows the uses of useless things.

Translation: The trees growing on the mountains were cut down because of natural needs. The ointment was burned because it could provide lighting. The osmanthus tree was cut down because it was edible. The bark was cut off because it could be used as lacquer. Everyone knows the uses of useful things but not the uses of useless things. Being useful and doing something will be harmful, but being useless and doing nothing is a blessing. It elucidates the "use of futility" that is often overlooked and contains simple dialectics.

26. The reason why Tsuen is in the fish, he gets the fish and forgets the Tsuen; the reason why the hoof is in the rabbit, he gets the rabbit and forgets the hoof; the speaker is so concerned about it, but he is so proud that he forgets to speak. How can I talk to someone who has forgotten my words?

Translation: Bamboo cages are used for fishing, and the bamboo cages are forgotten when the fish are caught; rabbit nets are used for catching rabbits, and the rabbit nets are forgotten when the rabbits are caught; language is used for expression Ideological, once you master the ideology, you forget the language. Where can I find someone who has forgotten his language and talk to him!

27. Small knowledge is not as good as big knowledge, and small years are not as good as big ones.

Translation: Those with little knowledge do not understand those with much knowledge; those with short lives do not understand those with long lives.

28. If you do nothing, you will have more than enough for the world; if you do something, you will have enough for the world.

Translation: If you do nothing, you will be able to take advantage of the world, and you will feel that you have more leisure; if you do something, you will be used by the world, and you will feel urgent and inadequate. Use nothingness, nature, and inaction to explain the rule of inaction.

29. Yangzi said: My disciples remember that if you practice virtuous behavior and abandon self-virtuous behavior, you will be content with it but not love it!

Translation: Yang Zhu said: Disciples, remember, if you are virtuous and can get rid of the thought of being virtuous, how can you not be loved!

30. The beauty of heaven and earth is not mentioned, the laws of the four seasons are clear but not discussed, and the principles of all things are not explained. A saint understands the beauty of heaven and earth and realizes the principles of all things.

Translation: The greatest virtues of heaven and earth are not expressed in words, the four seasons have clear laws but are not discussed, and the principles of creation of all things are not explained. The sage studies the virtues of heaven and earth and understands the principles of the creation of all things.

31. Everyone values ??profit, honest people value reputation, wise people value ambition, and saints value essence.

Translation: Most people value profit, honest people value reputation, wise men value ambition, and saints value spirit.

32. The beauty of heaven and earth is not mentioned, the laws of the four seasons are clear but not discussed, and the rationality of all things is not explained.

Translation: The heaven and earth have great creations and merits without talking about them; the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter have clear laws without discussing them; all things have their natural formation without explanation. Everything you do must follow the laws of development.

33. The friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, while the friendship between villains is as sweet as wine.

Translation: The friendship between gentlemen is as thin as water, while the friendship between villains seems as sweet as wine. A true friend never talks about benefits.

34. Those who are content will not burden themselves with benefits; those who judge their own gains will not be afraid of losing them; those who practice inner cultivation will have no position and will not be discouraged.

Translation: A person who is content does not work hard for profit; a person who knows how to enjoy himself does not feel worried about losing something; a person who pays attention to inner moral cultivation does not feel ashamed if he does not have an official position. Only when you are contented and contented and don't seek fame and position can you be detached.