1. Looking at the ocean and sighing

Original text: When the autumn water comes, hundreds of rivers flow into the river, and the Jingliu River is so big that there are no cattle or horses on both sides of the river. So Yanhebo was happy and thought that all the beauty in the world was his own. Going eastward along the current, as for the North Sea, looking eastward, you can't see the water end. Then Yanhebo began to turn his face, looked at the ocean and sighed: "There is a wild saying: 'I heard that there are hundreds of Taoists, and I think there is no one like me.' That's what I call it." - Zhuangzi "Autumn Waters" by Zhuangzi

Translation: When autumn comes, it rains heavily, and countless small streams of water flow into the Yellow River. I saw rough waves, the river surged, submerged the sandbar in the middle of the river, and soaked the depressions on the bank. The river surface suddenly widened, and even the large livestock such as cattle and horses on the other side of the river could not be distinguished clearly from across the water.

The scene in front of him was so spectacular. He Bo thought that all the water in the world had come to him, and he couldn't help but feel proud. He walked eastward with the flowing water, admiring the water scenery as he walked.

He came to the North Sea and looked eastward. He couldn't help being surprised, but he saw that the water and the sky were connected, and he didn't know where the water ended.

He Bo stared blankly for a while, then turned to face the sea and said with emotion: "As the saying goes: 'Those who know more principles think that they are better than everyone else.' That’s the kind of person I am!”

Meaning: If you don’t see the mountains, you won’t see the plains; if you don’t see the sea, you won’t know the streams. There are mountains beyond the mountains, and there is a sky beyond the sky. Each of us is actually very small.

2. The skill of slaying dragons

Original text: A man surnamed Zhu learned to slay dragons in Zhiliyi, a man with a single daughter. It took three years to master the skill, but he did not use his skill.

Zhuangzi's "Zhuangzi: Li Yukou"

Translation: There was a man named Zhu who wanted to learn a technique that no one else had, so he went to Zhiliyi. Learn the art of slaying dragons. He spent all his family's assets and spent three years finally mastering the technique of killing dragons.

The man named Zhu returned home triumphantly. However, is there any dragon in the world that can be killed? As a result, the skills he learned were useless at all.

Implication: Learning must be based on reality and emphasize practical results. No matter how great your skills are, they are of no use if you are divorced from reality.

3. Playing the Bird with the Pearl

Original text: Now there is someone here, using the pearl of the Marquis, to play the bird with a thousand feet, the world will laugh at him. What is it? Then the one who uses it is heavy, and the one who wants it is light. (The Suihou Pearl is a very precious orb.) Zhuangzi's "Zhuangzi·Rang Wang"

Translation: There was a man who liked to shoot birds, but he used the Suihou Pearl as a projectile to shoot a bird flying thousands of feet in the sky. A sparrow. People saw it and laughed at him. What's the point? This is because the price you pay is too high and what you get is too little.

Meaning: Whatever you do, you have to pay attention to the pros and cons. It is foolish to throw away something very valuable for something of little value.

4. Peng’s journey is ten thousand miles

Original text: There is a bird, its name is Peng, its back is like Mount Tai, and its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky; it can fly up to ninety thousand miles by swinging its horns , clear of clouds, negative to the blue sky, then Tunnan, and suitable for Nanming. An Niao laughed at him and said, "He is making fun of you! I jumped up, but only a few feet down, soaring among the basils. I am also flying here, and you are making fun of me!" Zhuangzi "Zhuangzi·Xiaoyao" "You"

Translation: In ancient times, there was a bird named Peng. The back of the roc is as high as Mount Tai, and when it flies, its wings are like clouds covering the sky and the sun.

Once, the roc flew towards the South China Sea. It beats the water with its wings on the South China Sea and travels three thousand miles with one flap. It flew high into the sky, whipped up a storm, and flew ninety thousand miles away. It flies out once and takes half a year to fly back to the South China Sea to rest. When it flies high into the sky, its back is against the blue sky, but the clouds are below it.

The little An bird living in the depression saw the Dapeng flying so high and far, and was puzzled, so he said: "Where else does he want to fly? Let's fly up. It only fell down after a few feet. We were flying around in Penghao, and we were considered to have flown to the edge.

Where does the roc want to fly? ”

Meaning: A short-sighted person cannot understand the pursuit of a person with high ambitions.:

Zhuangzi

(about 369 BC - 286 BC), A philosopher of the mid-Warring States period, Zhuang, named Zhou, also named Zixiu (also known as Zimu), was of Han nationality and was a native of Mongolia (now Mengcheng, Anhui, also known as Shangqiu, Henan, and Dongming, Shandong). He was a great thinker in the pre-Qin (Warring States) period of our country. Philosopher and writer.

Zhuangzi was originally a Duke of Chu and a descendant of King Zhuang of Chu. He later moved to the Song Dynasty due to chaos. He is the main founder of Taoism and is called "the founder of Taoism". "Laozi and Zhuangzi", their philosophical system of thought is respected as "Laozi and Zhuangzi Philosophy" by the academic circle of thought, but his literary talent is even better than Laozi.

The representative work "Zhuangzi" has been interpreted in many versions by admirers, and it is a famous article There are "Xiaoyaoyou", "Qiwu Lun", etc. Zhuangzi advocates "the unity of nature and man" and "quietness and inaction".