Background
The book Zhuangzi interprets the universe as a thing that changes spontaneously without a conscious God driving it, and argues that humans can achieve happiness by living equally and spontaneously. It argues that humans have a tendency to create artificial distinctions—such as good versus bad, large versus small, usefulness versus uselessness—and these artificial distinctions create conflicts and disputes.
This chapter includes the richest and most subtle thoughts in Zhuangzi. It intends to dispel the blind attachment of humans to social values. Zhuangzi believes that the key to stopping disputes lies in understanding the truth that values and theories of people are different but interdependent.
Section 1 below, I believe, is the most important section of the chapter. This section introduces a number of important concepts, the significance of which will be clarified later on. They include:
- Losing one's companion,
- Changing or transforming oneself,
- Losing oneself,
- The piping of men, the piping of earth, and the piping of Heaven (piping means the musical instruments or the sound of the musical instruments), and
- Ten thousand things being themselves, taking what they want for themselves.
The following is the text of Chapter 2 Section 1 from the book "Zhuangzi, Basic Writings" translated by Burton Watson (1925-2017) who was an American sinologist, translator, and writer.
Chapter 2, Section 1
Ziqi of South Wall sat leaning on his armrest, staring up at the sky and breathing - vacant and far away, as though he'd lost his companion (note 1). Yan Cheng Ziyou, who was standing by his side in attendance, said, "What is this? Can you really make the body like a withered tree and the mind like dead ashes? The man leaning on the armrest now is not the one who leaned on it before!"
Ziqi said, "You do well to ask the question, Yan (note 2). Now I have lost myself (note 3). Do you understand that? You hear the piping of men, but you haven't heard the piping of earth. Or if you've heard the piping of earth, you haven't heard the piping of Heaven!"
Ziyou. "May I venture to ask what this means?"
Ziqi said, "The Great Clod (note 4) belches out breath and its name is wind. So long as it doesn't come forth, nothing happens, but when it does, then ten thousand hollows begin crying wildly. Can't you hear them, long drawn out? (note 5) In the mountain forests that lash and sway, there are huge trees a hundred spans around with hollows and openings like noses, like mouths, like ears, like jugs, like cups, like mortars, like rifts, like ruts.
They roar like waves, whistle like arrows, screech, gasp, cry, wail, moan, and howl, those in the lead calling out yeee!, those behind calling out yuuu! In a gentle breeze they answer faintly, but in a full gale the chorus is gigantic. And when the fierce wind has passed on, then all the hollows are empty (insubstantial) again. Have you never seen the tossing and trembling (of leaves and small branches) that goes on?" (note 6)
Ziyou said, "By the piping of earth, then, you mean simply [the sound of] these hollows, and by the piping of men [the sound of] flutes and whistles. But may I ask about the piping of Heaven?" (note 7)
Ziqi said, "Blowing on the ten thousand things in a different way, so that each can be itself - all take what they want for themselves, but who does the sounding?" (note 8)
Notes:
- The word "companion" is interpreted variously to mean his associates, his wife, or his own body. The word can also mean the "opposite". In Watson's book, at the bottom of page 35, near the end of section 5, the term "their opposites" is mentioned.
- Yan is Yan Cheng Ziyou, who is a student of Ziqi of South Wall.
- The phrase "I have lost myself" means "I have lost the mind given me (or my established mind)". Please see discussion in Section 4 about "the mind given him", which may be referred to as "the established mind".
- The earth.
- The sound of wind in a prolonged gale.
- This paragraph describes the piping of earth. The author challenges the readers in two ways. The first way, the readers are challenged to reflect if they had really listened to the sound of nature. The second, by comparing hollows in the tree and the sounds from them to human orifices and utterances, the readers are challenged to consider if human utterances are really that different from sounds from nature.
- The student Ziyou does not really understand what his teacher was saying. The piping of earth should mean the sounds and effects of nature. The piping of men (humans) should mean sounds and effects of humans.
- The phrase "who does the sounding?" means "who is behind all these?". Ziqi implies the piping of Heaven is behind all these. The piping of Heaven can be interpreted as the piping of of Dao. The Dao may be roughly explained as the source of everything and the ultimate principle underlying reality.
See Also
"Zhuangzi, Basic Writings" translated by Burton Watson
Please find the Chinese text and English translation by James Legge below:
