On the Equality of All Things (Qi Wu Lun) is the second chapter of the inner chapters of Zhuangzi, and the most dialectical and philosophically profound text in Zhuangzi’s thought. Following the spiritual freedom introduced in Happy Wandering, this chapter builds a fundamental worldview and epistemology. It dissolves humanity’s innate tendency to make rigid distinctions between right and wrong, self and others, truth and falsehood. Through layered reasoning and vivid fables, Zhuangzi reveals two ultimate truths of the universe: all judgments are relative, and all things in nature are interconnected and unified in essence. This philosophy lays the cognitive foundation for achieving true spiritual freedom and wandering without restraint.
Rather than empty preaching, Zhuangzi starts from real human pain: endless arguments, inner anxiety, cognitive bias, and self‑attachment. He traces all human suffering to one root: the artificial distinctions we impose on the world. By observing life through the lens of the Dao, Zhuangzi reaches the supreme state of thought: Heaven, Earth, and I coexist; all things and I are one. For more than two thousand years, this wisdom has freed countless people from obsessive judgment and inner turmoil, helping them see life and the world as they truly are.
The Starting Point of Enlightenment: Losing the Self
The chapter opens with the meditative state of Master Nanguo Ziqi (南郭子綦), who sits quietly leaning on a table. His body is still and silent like withered wood; his mind is empty and calm like cold ashes. He has forgotten all external things and even his own self.
His disciple Ziyu (颜成子游) wonders how a person can become so detached from worldly consciousness. Ziqi replies with the core concept of the whole chapter: I have lost my old self.
The “self” people cling to is the worldly, artificial self, filled with prejudice, desire, judgment, and fixed values. It is a false self trapped by secular cognition. The “lost self” refers to transcending these attachments, returning to an empty, pure, authentic state that merges with the Dao. Only by abandoning the biased worldly self can people break cognitive cages and perceive the true unity of all things.
The Three Sounds of the World: Human, Earth, and Heavenly Wind
To explain different levels of cognition and existence, Ziqi introduces the three sounds that govern all life: human sound, earth sound, and heavenly sound.
- Human sound comes from musical instruments crafted by humans. It follows fixed tones and rhythms, shaped by human intention and skill. It symbolizes human subjective opinions, rigid judgments of right and wrong, and artificial values – full of boundaries, bias, and division.
- Earth sound refers to the wind blowing through countless natural holes across mountains and forests. Every hollow, crack, and cavity produces a unique sound: rushing like water, sharp like blades, loud like shouts, soft like breaths. When the wind rises, all sounds resound together; when the wind fades, all fall silent. These diverse natural noises arise spontaneously without intention. They represent the diversity of all living things: different in form, yet equal in nature, with no inherent good or evil, superior or inferior.
- Heavenly sound is the highest state. It is not a separate sound beyond human and earth sounds. It is the invisible power that lets all things sound naturally, begin and end spontaneously. No ruler controls it; no intention shapes it. Everything simply follows its innate nature. Heavenly sound symbolizes the Dao: all differences emerge from one unified source, and all contradictions dissolve into natural harmony.
Through the three sounds, Zhuangzi reveals a vital truth: worldly arguments and value conflicts are merely narrow human biases. The diversity of nature is real yet harmless. True wisdom lies in transcending division and embracing the unified essence of the Dao.
Why Humans Suffer: Fixed Minds and Endless Judgment
Zhuangzi deeply analyzes the source of human anxiety and conflict. People with broad wisdom see life holistically and calmly. In contrast, petty minds obsess over trivial details, constantly distinguishing right from wrong, gain from loss, self from others.
Human minds are restless and changeable. People scheme and compete all day, their moods swinging between joy, anger, sorrow, and fear. They argue sharply to defend their views, yet stubbornly cling to their own opinions. Gradually, their spirits wither like autumn plants, losing their original purity and tranquility.
All these troubles stem from fixed worldly minds. From childhood, people are shaped by environment, education, and social norms, forming rigid preconceptions. With fixed standards come distinctions: beautiful and ugly, good and evil, gain and loss. With distinction come attachment, argument, and endless suffering.
All Judgment Is Relative: No Absolute Right or Wrong
Zhuangzi proposes his most revolutionary epistemology: right and wrong are interdependent and relative. Every viewpoint exists only in relation to its opposite. From one perspective, something seems right; from another, it seems wrong. There is no universal, absolute standard.
Schools of thought like Confucianism and Mohism endlessly debated, each believing itself correct and the other wrong. Yet all their judgments came from subjective prejudice, not universal truth. To end such futile conflict, Zhuangzi advocates observing all things through heaven – viewing the world with an empty, unbiased mind, mirroring reality exactly as it is, without artificial division or judgment.
Classic Fable: The Monkey Chestnuts
To illustrate the absurdity of human obsession with superficial differences, Zhuangzi tells the famous story of monkey chestnuts (朝三暮四). A keeper told monkeys he would give three chestnuts in the morning and four in the evening, making the monkeys furious. When he changed it to four in the morning and three in the evening, the monkeys rejoiced. The total number of chestnuts never changed – only the order. Yet the monkeys’ emotions shifted drastically based on superficial distinction.
Human pursuit of right and wrong, gain and loss, honor and disgrace is exactly the same. Most conflicts arise not from real difference, but from subjective obsession with superficial appearances.
All Things Are Equal: Size, Age, Beauty, and Value Are Relative
Zhuangzi further breaks all worldly hierarchical values. From the perspective of the Dao, no thing is truly great or small, long or short, beautiful or ugly.
A tiny autumn hair tip is infinitely large when compared with smaller things; the massive Mount Tai is tiny against the vast universe. A child who dies young completes its natural life cycle; the long‑lived Pengzu is fleeting in cosmic time.
The legendary beauty Mao Qiang and Li Ji are considered gorgeous by humans, yet fish dive deep, birds fly away, and deer flee at their sight – proving beauty has no universal standard. Human definitions of taste, safety, and value are all species‑specific and subjective.
Creation and destruction, success and failure, glory and decline are merely natural transformations of the Dao. Just as ice melts and freezes, all things return to the unified source. Ultimately: Heaven, Earth, and I coexist; all things and I are one.
Dialogues of Sages: Transcending Worldly Judgment
Zhuangzi uses dialogues between ancient sages to illustrate transcendent wisdom. Emperor Yao planned to conquer small border states yet felt inner unease. Shun explained that sage virtue embraces all things like the sun, shining equally on everything without judgment or exclusion, needing no forced intervention to create harmony.
The dialogue between Nie Que and Wang Ni goes further. When asked for the universal standard of truth, Wang Ni repeatedly replied: I do not know. True wisdom recognizes the limits of human cognition. All definitions and standards are partial; only letting go of judgment approaches the true nature of the Dao.
Two Timeless Fables: Shadow and Butterfly
The latter half of the chapter concludes with two iconic fables that perfect Zhuangzi’s theory of universal transformation.
- The Shadow and Its Penumbra: The faint outer shadow questions the main shadow for its dependence on external things. The shadow replies that all existence is interdependent. Nothing is absolutely independent; all things shift and transform with the natural flow of the Dao. There is no need to obsess over causes or boundaries – simply follow nature.
- Zhuangzi and the Butterfly Dream: Once, Zhuangzi dreamed he was a free, joyful butterfly, completely unaware of being Zhuangzi. Upon waking, he wondered: Was I Zhuangzi dreaming of being a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of being Zhuangzi?
This is the ultimate state of the transformation of all things. The boundary between self and other, dream and reality, life and death dissolves. All beings merge and transform within the Dao. To reach this state is to abandon fear of change and division, and dwell in effortless harmony with the universe.
The Three Transcendences of Qi Wu Lun
The core wisdom of On the Equality of All Things lies in letting go of three layers of obsession:
1. Transcend arguments: Realize all right and wrong are relative; end futile, self‑righteous debate.
2. Transcend material distinction: See that size, lifespan, beauty, and success are not absolute; all things are equal in the Dao.
3. Transcend the separation of self and things: Merge self with all existence, overcome fear of life and death, and embrace universal unity.
Ancient Wisdom for Modern Anxiety
In modern life, people are trapped in endless comparison, conflict, judgment, and inner stress. We suffer precisely because we cling to rigid distinctions and a narrow self. Zhuangzi’s philosophy does not deny the diversity of the world; it transcends the opposition created by human bias.
By emptying the self, abandoning judgment, and aligning with the Dao, people regain inner peace and true freedom. This two‑thousand‑year‑old wisdom remains a timeless guide for anyone seeking liberation from mental bondage, genuine self‑awareness, and harmonious unity with all life.
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