Chapter 23 Five, useless

Zhuangzi is really super utilitarian. That's right, holes and ink are very different.Mozi believed in ghosts and gods but not in the destiny, and Confucius believed in the destiny and not in ghosts and gods.But no matter what kind of thing is to do, it must be useful.Confucius said, I am not the kind of bitter gourd melon that is empty inside. How can I just hang it up and look at it without eating it? Zhuangzi thinks that it is good to be useless. To prove this point, Zhuangzi told a story. Zhuangzi said that a carpenter named Shi took his disciples to the state of Qi and saw a big tree on the way.That tree had a canopy big enough to shade thousands of cattle, a trunk hundreds of feet thick, and a top almost as high as the top of the mountain.There are as many people going to watch from all directions as there are in a market.

Carpenter Shi dismissed it. The apprentices couldn't understand and asked the master why. Carpenter Shi said it was useless.The wood is loose, and I can't make any utensils. At night, the tree came to entrust the dream. The tree said: Master Shi, do you think I am useless? Carpenter Shi said: Yes. The tree said: Ha ha, if I am useful, can I live to this day? Think about it too, it was chopped down by a carpenter long ago. Therefore, Zhuangzi does not seek to be useful, nor does he seek to be famous.He even borrowed Lao Tzu's words, if you call me a cow, I will call myself a cow; if you call me a horse, I will call myself a horse.What does it matter?

Such Zhuangzi, of course, does not want to be an official. Was Zhuangzi an official?did.It is said that he worked as an official in Qiyuan in Mengdi (now Shangqiu City, Henan Province) in the Song Dynasty for a short time, and then he was out of office for life.King Wei of Chu worshiped him as his prime minister, but he didn't do it either. If you are not an official, what do you do? fishing. Where to fish? Pushui (in today's Puyang County, Henan Province). The two officials of the state of Chu who were ordered by King Wei to convey their offer of employment traveled all the way to the state of Song to find Zhuangzi by the Pu River.

Chuang Tzu caught his fish by himself. Two officials of the state of Chu said: "The virtuous king of our country really wants to bother you with matters within the borders of the country!" Zhuangzi continued to fish.He asked without looking back: I heard that there is a kind of tortoise in your country, which has been dead for three thousand years.The great king of your country treasured it very carefully and reverently in the temple. Is there such a thing? The two Chu officials said: Yes. Zhuangzi said: I would like to ask this turtle, would he rather die and leave his bones to enjoy wealth, or would he rather live and roll in the mud with his tail dragging his back?

The two doctors said in unison: Do you still need to ask? Zhuangzi said: You two can go back, I will continue to drag my tail and roll in the mud. This is different from Keiko. Keiko has become a high official, and he still cares about that official position very much.When he was Prime Minister of Liang Guoguo, someone told him that Zhuang Zi was going to take your position.Huizi panicked and sent people to search the territory for three days and three nights. So Zhuangzi went to see Huizi. Zhuangzi said that there is a bird in the south called the 鹓鶵 (pronounced as Yuan Chu, a kind of phoenix).This kind of bird does not live in the sycamore tree, eats the bamboo, and drinks from the sweet spring.When it was flying from the South Sea to the North Sea, an owl happened to catch a dead mouse.When the owl saw the pheasant flying over its head, it thought the robbing was coming, so it said "scare" to the pheasant.

Scared to read like congratulations, it is the angry rejection of animals. So Zhuangzi said: Brother, do you want to "scare" me because of your Liang country? Keiko blushed. hehe!An official position is nothing more than a dead mouse, a high official is nothing more than a dead tortoise, and the most useless is the most useful. Why does Zhuangzi advocate this? Maybe have to tell the story again. According to the story, someone wanted to hire Zhuangzi, and Zhuangzi's answer was: Have you ever seen the cow used as a sacrifice?Dressed in silk and satin, eating good food.However, when it is brought into the Taimiao and is ready to be killed to sacrifice to the ancestors, even if it wants to be a lonely calf, is it okay?

Is Zhuangzi's ideal to be a lonely calf? No way! So, what is his pursuit?

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