庄子《逍遥游》准确翻译

Chuang Tzu: Inner Chapters

Chapter One

Wandering in Absolute Freedom

In the North Sea there is a kind of fish by the name of kun,

whose

size

covers

thousands

of

li.

The

fish

metamorphoses

into

a

kind

of

bird

by

the

name

of

peng,

whose

back

cover

thousands

of

li.

When

it

rises

in

flight,

its

wings

are

like

clouds

that

hang

from

the

sky.

When

the

wind

blows

over

the

sea,

the

peng

moves to the South Sea, the Celestial Pond.

According

to

Qi

Xie

,

a

collection

of

mysterious

stories,

“On

its

journey

to

the

South

Sea,

the

peng

flaps

sprays

for

3,000

li and soars to a height of 90,000 li at the windy time of

June.” The air, the dusts and the microbes float in the sky

at

the

breath

of

the

wind.

Does

the

sky

display

the

blueness

as

its

true

colour?

Or

does

it

reach

an

unattainable

distance?

When

the

peng

looks

from

above,

it

must

have

observed

a

similar

sight.

If a mass of water is not deep enough, it will not be able

to

float

large

ships.

When

you

pour

a

cup

of

water

into

a

hole

on

the

floor,

a

straw

can

sail

on

it

as

a

boat,

but

a

cup

will

get stuck in it for the water is too shallow and the vessel

is too large. If the wind is not strong enough, it will not

be able to bear large wings. Therefore, the peng must have

a

strong

wind

under

it

as

its

support

so

as

to

soar

to

a

height

of 90,000 li. Only then can it brave the blue sky and clear

all obstacles on its southward journey.

A cicada and a turtle-dove derided the peng saying,

“We fly

upward

until

we

alight

on

an

elm

or

a

sandal

tree. Sometimes

when

we

cannot

make

it,

we

just

fall

back

to

the

ground.

What?s

the

sense

of

soaring

to

a

height

of

90,000

li

on

your

journey

to the south?”

If

you

are

going

to

the

green

suburbs,

you

only

have

to

bring

three

meals

and

you

will

comeback

with

a

full

stomach.

If

you

are

going

100

li

away,

you

have

to

grind

enough

grain

for

the

overnight stay. If you are going 1,000 li away, you have to

bring

enough

grain

to

last

you

three

months.

How

could

these

two little creatures know about all this?

Little

learning

does

not

come

up

to

great

learning;

the

short-lived

does

not

come

up

to

the

long-lived.

How

do

we

know

that this is the case? The fungi that sprout in the morning

and die before evening do not know the alteration of night

and

day;

cicadas

do

not

know

the

alteration

of

spring

and

autumn.

Those

are

cases

of

the

short-lived.

In

the

south

of

the

state

of Chu there is a miraculous tortoise, for whom each spring

or

autumn

lasts

500

years;

in

the

remote

ages

there

was

a

huge

toon

tree,

for

which

each

spring

and

autumn

lasted

8,000

years.

Those

are

cases

of

the

long- lived.

But

today,

Pengzu,

who

lived

over 700 years, is uniquely acknowledged for his longevity.

Is it not lamentable that he is an object of envy to all!

Tang,

the

first

king

of

the

Shang

Dynasty,

asked

his

minister

Ji a similar question.

Tang

asked

Ji,

“Are

there

limits

up

and

down,

east and

west,

north and south?”

Ji answered, “There are limits beyond limits. In the remote

and barren north, there is a dark sea, the Celestial Pond,

where

lives

a

kind

of

fish

by

the

name

of

kun,

whose

size

covers

thousands of li. There are also a kind of bird by the name

of

peng,

whose

back

is

like

a

lofty

mountain

and

whose

wings

are

like

clouds

that

hang

from

the

sky.

Soaring

like

a

whirlwind

to

a

height

for

90,00

li,

the

peng

flies

above

the

heavy

clouds

and

against

the

blue

sky

on

its

southward

journey

toward

the

South

Sea.

A

quail

in

the

marsh

laughed

at

the

peng,

saying,

?Where does he think he?s going? I hop and skip and fly

up,

but

I

never

fly

up

more

than

a

dozen

metres

before

I

come

down

and

hover

above

the

reeds.

That?s

the

highest

I

ever

fly!

And

where does he think he?s going??”

Such is the difference between the small and the great.

For

those

who

are

intelligent

enough

to

take

a

minor

office,

well-behaved enough to impress a district, virtuous enough

to

please

a

lord

or

talented

enough

to

win

the

confidence

of

a state, their complacency is like that of the cicada, the

turtle-dove or the quail. Song Rongzi is a philosopher who

mocks at them, for he himself does not feel flattered when

the

whole

world

praises

him

and

does

not

feel

discouraged

when

the

whole

world

blames

him.

He

can

differentiate

the

internal

form

the

external;

he

can

distinguish

between

honour

and

disgrace.

But

that

is

all

he

can

do.

Although

he

is

not

entangled

in

worldly

affairs,

he

still

has

something

unattained.