Zhuangzi: Chinese-English Parallel Text (Full 2 Volumes)

Author: Translated by: Wang Rongpei et al.
Editor-in-Chief: Yin Feizhou et al.
Publisher:
Publication Date: 1999-09-01
Features: "Zhuangzi," also known as the "Nanhuajing," is one of the classics of Taoism, written by the philosopher Zhuangzi and his successors during the Warring States period. The entire work consists of 7 Inner Chapters, 15 Outer Chapters, and 11 Miscellaneous Chapters, totaling 33 chapters. Zhuangzi, in this book, inherits and develops Laozi's view of "Dao fa ziran" (the Dao follows nature), considering the Dao as the origin of the world. He believes the Dao is self-sufficient and eternal, and that the differences between things are only relative. Corresponding to this cosmology, Zhuangzi advocates a life philosophy of "ziran wuwei" (natural non-action), maintaining personal freedom of body and mind, and pursuing a boundless spiritual realm where heaven and humanity are unified. This book is based on Guo Qingfan's "Zhuangzi Jishu" for collation and modern translation. The English translation draws on existing full and selected English translations of "Zhuangzi" and is the latest full English translation of the work.
Excerpt: Zhuangzi · Inner Chapters · Free and Easy Wandering[Original Text]North of the Sea, there is a fish named Kun. Its size is unknown, perhaps thousands of miles long. It transforms into a bird named Peng. The back of Peng is also unknown, perhaps thousands of miles long. When it rouses itself to fly, its wings resemble clouds hanging across the sky. This bird, when the seas stir, migrates to the southern depths. The southern depths are the "Heavenly Pool." "Qixie" is a book that records strange tales. It says, "When Peng migrates to the southern depths, it strikes the water three thousand miles into the air, riding the whirlwind to nine thousand miles high, and travels with the wind of June." The vapor like wild horses and the floating dust are all moved by the wind. Is the sky's blueness its true color? Is its vastness boundless? When Peng looks down, it sees it just like this. Moreover, if water accumulates not deeply, it lacks the strength to carry a large boat. Pouring a cup of water on a concave platform, a blade of grass can serve as a boat, but placing a cup there makes it stick. This is because the water is too shallow and the boat too large. If wind accumulates not deeply, it lacks the strength to carry large wings. Therefore, at ninety thousand miles high, the wind is beneath it, and it can then ride the wind, carrying the blue sky without hindrance, and then set out southward. The cicada and the small bird laugh at Peng, saying, "We leap up and fly, hitting the elms and bamboos and stopping there. Sometimes we fail to reach them and fall to the ground. Why must we fly ninety thousand miles south?" Those who go to the fields return after three meals, still full. Those who go a hundred miles ahead prepare food the night before. Those who go a thousand miles ahead gather food for three months. What do these two small creatures know? Small wisdom cannot grasp great wisdom; short years cannot understand long years. How do we know this? The morning fungus, which is born in the morning and dies at night, does not know the passage of a month. The cricket, which does not know the passage of a year, is also short-lived. These are called "small years." In the south of Chu, there is a sea spirit named Mingling, which considers five hundred years as a spring and five hundred years as an autumn. In ancient times, there was a great tree named Chun, which considered eight thousand years as a spring and eight thousand years as an autumn. These are called "great years." Pengzu is now famous for his longevity. Ordinary people compare themselves to him—how tragic! Shang Tang's question to Ji is the same. Tang asked Ji, "Are the heavens and earth and the four directions limitless?" Ji replied, "Beyond the limitless is still limitless. In the northernmost barren lands, there is an endless sea called the Heavenly Pool. There is a fish named Kun, several thousand miles wide, but no one knows how long it is. There is also a bird named Peng, whose back is like Mount Tai, and whose wings are like clouds covering the sky. It rides the whirlwind, ascending ninety thousand miles high, piercing the clouds, carrying the blue sky, and then sets southward, heading for the southern depths. [Translated Text]In the northern sea, there is a fish named Kun. Its size is unknown, perhaps thousands of miles long. It transforms into a bird named Peng. The back of Peng is also unknown, perhaps thousands of miles long. When it rouses itself to fly, its wings resemble clouds hanging across the sky. This bird, when the seas stir, migrates to the southern depths. The southern depths are the "Heavenly Pool." "Qixie" is a book that records strange tales. It says, "When Peng migrates to the southern depths, it strikes the water three thousand miles into the air, riding the whirlwind to nine thousand miles high, and travels with the wind of June." The vapor like wild horses and the floating dust are all moved by the wind. Is the sky's blueness its true color? Is its vastness boundless? When Peng looks down, it sees it just like this. Moreover, if water accumulates not deeply, it lacks the strength to carry a large boat. Pouring a cup of water on a concave platform, a blade of grass can serve as a boat, but placing a cup there makes it stick. This is because the water is too shallow and the boat too large. If wind accumulates not deeply, it lacks the strength to carry large wings. Therefore, at ninety thousand miles high, the wind is beneath it, and it can then ride the wind, carrying the blue sky without hindrance, and then set out southward. The cicada and the small bird laugh at Peng, saying, "We leap up and fly, hitting the elms and bamboos and stopping there. Sometimes we fail to reach them and fall to the ground. Why must we fly ninety thousand miles south?" Those who go to the fields return after three meals, still full. Those who go a hundred miles ahead prepare food the night before. Those who go a thousand miles ahead gather food for three months. What do these two small creatures know? Small wisdom cannot grasp great wisdom; short years cannot understand long years. How do we know this? The morning fungus, which is born in the morning and dies at night, does not know the passage of a month. The cricket, which does not know the passage of a year, is also short-lived. These are called "small years." In the south of Chu, there is a sea spirit named Mingling, which considers five hundred years as a spring and five hundred years as an autumn. In ancient times, there was a great tree named Chun, which considered eight thousand years as a spring and eight thousand years as an autumn. These are called "great years." Pengzu is now famous for his longevity. Ordinary people compare themselves to him—how tragic! Shang Tang's question to Ji is the same. Tang asked Ji, "Are the heavens and earth and the four directions limitless?" Ji replied, "Beyond the limitless is still limitless. In the northernmost barren lands, there is an endless sea called the Heavenly Pool. There is a fish named Kun, several thousand miles wide, but no one knows how long it is. There is also a bird named Peng, whose back is like Mount Tai, and whose wings are like clouds covering the sky. It rides the whirlwind, ascending ninety thousand miles high, piercing the clouds, carrying the blue sky, and then sets southward, heading for the southern depths.