The first story in the fourth chapter of the Zhuangzi is worth talking about, there are many classics in it, 2. We will have a deeper understanding of how to deal with the world, and we can find a better way to meet the world.

The first story in the fourth part of the Zhuangzi Inner Chapter is also the main and focused part of the whole article, and most of the later parts are supplements.

Quite possibly? The first story is a stand-alone article, and the later parts may have been cut by later generations to help others understand the earlier parts.

In a word! The whole article is Zhuangzi's article, but it has been cut and integrated by later generations. Such! It makes it easier for us to read Zhuangzi.

In the first story, it is mainly divided into two parts, and two key things are said.

The first key element is: wisdom and fame.

The second key element is: Shinsai.

Wisdom and fame are believed by Zhuangzi to be mutually reinforcing, and are the root cause and root cause of social chaos.

But! It is not that we should reject wisdom and wisdom, that we cannot be wise and wise, that we should be "ignorant and desireless." But! It is necessary for us to correctly understand the nature of wisdom, wisdom and fame, and to treat it correctly.

Wisdom and fame are used to survive better, not to seek superfluous things outside the body.

Later generations of academic spies and scholars with questionable comprehension made a big fuss about this, accusing Lao Zhuang's philosophy of "nihilism", "passive inaction", asking people to be ignorant and desireless, "foolish policy", and so on.

The second key element is Shinsai, which is the way to target and solve problems.

Zhuangzi said:

And if you also know what Fude is doing and what you know is out of the way? Virtue is famous, and knowledge is out of contention. Those who are famous are also rolling each other; Those who are wise are also the tools of contention. The murder weapons of the two are not so good.

This sentence means:

Do you know how morality is corrupted? Do you know where wisdom comes from?

Moral corruption is due to the fact that people are seeking fame and presenting themselves as moral beings. So! will do whatever it takes to deceive. Outcome! People who are not moral become people who are moral.

That's why it's morally turpitude!

Wisdom comes from strife. In order to fight, in order to defeat the other party, in order to achieve victory, we have to come up with all kinds of methods.

That's where wisdom comes in!

Wisdom is a tool used to fight each other.

So! Fame and wisdom are both fierce weapons, which have brought disaster to human society. So! We who have learned the Tao should not seek fame and show our own cleverness. Be indifferent to fame and fortune, and be wise and foolish.

To interpret Zhuangzi's philosophy, we should not stick to the literal meaning of the text, but should extend it and understand it in combination with the whole.

Furthermore! I don't know how many people have changed the book literally, and it is definitely not the original text.

And also! The words of that time were different from those of later generations, and the meaning of the different words of the characters changed accordingly. If we blindly translate literally, we will definitely fall short of the truth.

A sentence that the ancients said, we may need a few words or even dozens of sentences to express it clearly. The words of the ancients, just like poems, have a deep artistic conception, which cannot be clearly expressed in one sentence or two sentences, and each has its own experience. But! The overall structure expressed by the author in the original text will not change.

To interpret what Zhuangzi said above, we must combine it with the context.

When Zhuangzi said this, he had a background and a premise. No! It's not Zhuangzi who said it directly. In the text, it was Confucius who said it, and Zhuangzi said it under the guise of Confucius.

Here's how the story goes:

Yan Hui wanted to go to Weiguo as an official to assist the monarch of Weiguo at that time. The monarch of the country is a tyrant, and Confucius persuaded Yan Hui to pay attention. Being an official and a courtier under this tyrant will die if you are not careful. And Yan Hui must go, and he also said what the set of "salvation" theories taught by Confucius to him. When Confucius saw that Yan Hui had to go, he said the above words, reminding Yan Hui not to chase fame and fortune, not to chase fame and fame, and so on.

And then! In this regard, it is inferred that even if Yan Hui is reused to defend the country, he will govern the country well, become famous, save the people from fire and water, and let the people live a happy life. But! All this is only temporary. Not just temporarily, but! You're going to die.

Why?

Because of the relationship of "virtuous name"!

Your "virtuous name" and virtue have overshadowed the tyrant and the patriotic king, so! The king of the kingdom will kill you. I ask you: Are you a king or am I a king? The virtue of one of your courtiers has overshadowed my king, are you rebelling?

I don't believe that the Patriotic King will kill you, do you? All right! I'll give you a few examples, they're in the same situation as you.

"And the former killed Guan Longfeng and killed the prince Bigan, all of whom cultivated the people below their bodies, and those above them, so their kings squeezed them because of their cultivation. It is a good name also.

In the past, Yao attacked Congzhi, Xu Ao, Yu attacked Youhu, the country was vain, as a torturer, its soldiers were not stopped, and its truth-seeking was endless. Are they all seeking fame and truth, but they don't hear about it? Those who are in name and in name are invincible to saints, and the situation is so! ”

Don't be dogmatic and say that you did your best, as long as you save people from fire and water, even if it is death, it is worth it. May I ask? After you die, you still don't have the same appearance as before?

You made a grade, but you died. If you say it's worth it, then you're in it for fame. But the end result is: you die, you don't complete the process of being a human being. And also! You have not finally solved the problems of humanity. You have only solved the temporary problem of defending the country, a temporary problem, but you have not cured it completely.

If you can't cure the problems of society and solve the problems of humanity, why should you send them to death?

This! I'm afraid that's what Zhuangzi is trying to express!

Since this method is not the best way to cure social problems and cannot ultimately save people from fire and water, we should not do it. It's useless, what are you doing with it? Toss? It's better to live well, find a way to survive for yourself, live well, and complete your life process as a human being.

Yan Hui was not convinced by this question, and said the following way of dealing with the world, saying how he would be, and whether he could protect himself?

Outcome! The same was denied.

This paragraph is also important. The methods mentioned by Yan Hui are all "good prescriptions" before the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and they are worthy of study and research by future generations.

But when we face tyrants, all your "good prescriptions" are useless. Because! Tyrants don't eat you. People have power in their hands, and they can do whatever they want.

In fact! The metaphor of this passage is that in this environment, all your efforts are in vain. Since it's in vain, it's better not to toss. If we live in a different way, why do we have to help that tyrant? Isn't it?

Such! Back to the front, back to the beginning of the article. At the beginning of the article: "The ancients are the people, first save themselves and then all people." What is in oneself is not determined, so what time is there for the actions of the tyrants? ”

In ancient times, cultivators always preserved their own lives before they spared the lives of others. Now that you are unable to protect yourself, where is the time to stop the tyrant from doing it? You'd better learn how to save your life first!

You haven't learned to protect yourself, so what are you talking about "saving the world"?

You yourself are a person who can't live, so why should you teach others how to live?