Scholarly note: Many modern‑day scholars suspect Shuo Jian was not written by Zhuang Zhou himself. Its rhetorical style resembles Warring States strategist‑lobbyist writings, with the story fictionally attributed to Zhuangzi. The core argument uses a three‑tier sword metaphor, criticising a ruler’s obsession with gladiatorial sword‑fighting and urging him to devote himself to state governance.
“Discoursing on Swords” means discussing the sword and swordsmanship. Zhuangzi tells a brilliant story: he puts on the clothing of a swordsman, goes to see King Wen of Zhao, and with a few words calms a bloody storm.
You may ask: Didn’t Zhuangzi teach non-action and non-contention? Why would he go argue about swords with a ruler? You misunderstand. Zhuangzi does not contend on a low level. On a higher level, he is sharper than anyone. The things you argue about until your face turns red – Zhuangzi sees them as the lowest sword of the common man. As for the sword in his hand, you have never even seen it.
1. King Wen of Zhao and His Three Thousand Swordsmen
King Wen of Zhao loved swordsmanship. He kept more than three thousand swordsmen as retainers at his gate. Day and night they fought before him, really cutting one another. Each year more than a hundred were killed or wounded. The king never tired of it. This went on for three years, and the state declined. The feudal lords began to plot against Zhao.
The crown prince, Kui, was worried. He offered a thousand pieces of gold to anyone who could persuade the king to stop the swordsmen. His attendants said, “Zhuangzi can do it.”
The prince sent someone to present a thousand pieces of gold to Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi refused. He went with the messenger to see the prince and said, “What would the prince teach Zhou by giving Zhou a thousand pieces of gold?”
The prince said, “I have heard you are wise and sage. I respectfully offer this gold for your followers. If you refuse it, how dare I speak further?”
Zhuangzi said, “I have heard that what the prince wants to use me for is to end the king’s fondness. If I persuade the king above but offend his will, and below fail to satisfy the prince, then my body will be punished and I will die. What use would the gold be then? But if I persuade the king above and satisfy the prince below, what could Zhao seek and not obtain?”
The prince said, “True. But what my king sees is only swordsmen.”
Zhuangzi said, “Very well. Zhou is good at swords.”
The prince said, “But the swordsmen my king sees all have disheveled hair, bushy sideburns, hanging caps, barbarian tassels, short-backed clothes, glaring eyes, and harsh speech. The king delights in them. If you wear Confucian robes to see the king, the matter will surely go badly.”
Zhuangzi said, “Please prepare sword attire for me.”
After preparing sword attire for three days, he saw the prince. The prince brought him to see the king. The king drew a white blade and held it.
Zhuangzi entered the palace gate without hurrying and did not bow. The king said, “What do you wish to teach me, having the prince precede you?”
Zhuangzi said, “I have heard Your Majesty loves swords, so I come with a sword to see you.”
The king said, “What can your sword restrain?”
Zhuangzi said, “My sword: ten paces, one man; a thousand li, no trace left behind.”
The king was greatly pleased and said, “There is none under Heaven to match it!”
Zhuangzi said, “In swordsmanship, one shows emptiness, opens with advantage, strikes after, and arrives first. I wish to try it.”
The king said, “Rest, sir. Go to your lodging and await orders. I will arrange a contest and invite you.”
The king then tested his swordsmen for seven days. More than sixty died. He obtained five or six, made them hold their swords below the hall, and then summoned Zhuangzi.
The king said, “Today let us test the swordsmen.”
Zhuangzi said, “I have long awaited this!”
The king said, “What length of sword do you use?”
Zhuangzi said, “What I hold is all acceptable. But I have three swords, for Your Majesty to use. Please let me speak first, then test them.”
The king said, “I wish to hear of the three swords.”
Zhuangzi said, “There is the sword of the Son of Heaven, the sword of the feudal lords, and the sword of the common man.”
2. The Sword of the Son of Heaven: Real Power Is Not a Weapon
The king said, “What is the sword of the Son of Heaven?”
Zhuangzi said, “The sword of the Son of Heaven: Yanxi and Stone City as its tip; Qi and Dai as its edge; Jin and Wei as its spine; Zhou and Song as its guard; Han and Wei as its hilt. It is wrapped in the four barbarian regions, enfolded in the four seasons; encircled by the Bohai Sea, belted by Mount Chang. It is regulated by the Five Phases, ordered by punishment and virtue; opened by yin and yang, held by spring and summer, wielded by autumn and winter. This sword: thrust forward, no front; raised, no above; pressed down, no below; wielded, no side. Above it cuts floating clouds; below it severs the bonds of Earth. Once this sword is used, the feudal lords are rectified and the world submits. This is the sword of the Son of Heaven.”
King Wen looked dazed, as if he had lost himself.
When you hear this, doesn’t it sound too grand and abstract? What is Zhuangzi talking about?
He is not talking about a real sword. He is talking about real power. Real power is not fists and knives. It is the order of Heaven and Earth, the movement of timing, the direction of people’s hearts, the attraction of moral authority.
Today you fight for power in your company. You scheme against colleagues. You think you are fighting. Zhuangzi says: that is the sword of the common man. The true sword of the Son of Heaven is this: when you do not contend, everyone is still willing to follow you. Your power is not in the blade you swing at people. It is in the field of presence you gather around yourself.
3. The Sword of the Feudal Lords: Know How to Use People
Zhuangzi continued: “The sword of the feudal lords: wise and brave men as its tip; pure and honest men as its edge; worthy and good men as its spine; loyal and sage men as its guard; heroic men as its hilt. This sword: thrust forward, no front; raised, no above; pressed down, no below; wielded, no side. Above it models round Heaven to follow the three lights; below it models square Earth to follow the four seasons; in the middle it harmonizes the people’s will to pacify the four quarters. Once this sword is used, it is like the crash of thunder. Within the four borders, none fails to submit and obey the ruler’s command. This is the sword of the feudal lords.”
Do you understand? The sword of the feudal lords is not a piece of iron. It is a group of the right people.
Today you want to accomplish something great. You think it depends on your own intelligence and talent. Zhuangzi says: you are wrong. The people who truly accomplish great things rely on putting the right people in the right places. They themselves can then get things done.
You do not need to swing the sword yourself. You only need to assemble the tip, edge, spine, guard, and hilt. Then they themselves will crash like thunder.
Why are you tired today? Because you want to be the whole sword. You want to be the tip, the edge, the spine, the guard, and the hilt all at once. You are doing five people’s work alone. If you are not tired, who is?
4. The Sword of the Common Man: You Are Just Cockfighting
Zhuangzi finally said: “The sword of the common man: disheveled hair, bushy sideburns, hanging cap, barbarian tassel, short-backed clothes, glaring eyes, harsh speech. They strike before you; above they cut necks, below they pierce liver and lungs. This sword of the common man is no different from cockfighting. One morning life is cut off, and it is of no use to the affairs of state. Now Your Majesty holds the position of the Son of Heaven yet loves the sword of the common man. I privately think it unworthy of Your Majesty.”
When you hear this, do you feel Zhuangzi is scolding you?
Today you fight with a colleague over a project until your face turns red. You think you are fighting. Zhuangzi says: you are cockfighting.
Today you argue with strangers online, attacking them with the most vicious language. You think you are defending truth. Zhuangzi says: you are cockfighting.
Today you turn against a friend over a promotion. You think you are seizing an opportunity. Zhuangzi says: you are cockfighting.
The sword you swing so hard cannot hurt your real enemy. It can only hurt you.
King Wen heard this and fell silent. He understood: the swordsmen he kept, who killed one another before him every day, were just a flock of fighting cocks. When their lives were gone, nothing was left.
5. How Zhuangzi Ended a Bloody Storm with Three Swords
After Zhuangzi finished the three swords, King Wen thought for a long time. Then he led Zhuangzi by the hand up into the hall. The steward served food. The king walked around him three times.
Zhuangzi said, “Your Majesty, sit calmly and settle your qi. The affair of the swords has been fully reported.”
Thereupon King Wen did not leave his palace for three months, and the swordsmen all submitted and died in their places.
Zhuangzi did not use a knife. He did not use force. He did not use any violent means. He only used three swords – the sword of the Son of Heaven, the sword of the feudal lords, and the sword of the common man – to end a bloody storm that had lasted for years.
Think about the deeper meaning. Today you conflict with people, struggle with people, fight to the death with people. You spend a hundred times the effort and solve nothing. But if you can, like Zhuangzi, step back and stand on a higher level, and put the other person’s sword into a larger frame, you will find that his sword may be utterly trivial.
It is not that you lack power. You are using your power in the wrong place.
6. One Line for Those Still Cockfighting
If “Discoursing on Swords” leaves you with only one line, let it be this:
“This sword of the common man is no different from cockfighting.”
When you argue with people, compete with people, compare yourself with people – you are a fighting cock. The feathers on your neck stand up. Your eyes are full of blood. You are ready to pounce and peck.
But after you peck, the other person may be unharmed, and you are half dead from exhaustion.
The true sword is not in your hand. It is in your heart.
If you train your heart to the scope of the sword of the Son of Heaven, you do not need to fight anyone for the world – the world naturally submits.
If you train your heart to the scope of the sword of the feudal lords, you do not need to carry everything alone – the right people naturally follow you.
If you are still swinging the sword of the common man, then keep being tired. Your life is not worth using for cockfighting.
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