In the Northern Sea there is a fish, and its name is Kun. The size of Kun – no one knows how many thousand li it is. It transforms and becomes a bird, and its name is Peng. The back of Peng – no one knows how many thousand li it is. When it rouses itself and flies, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky. This bird, when the seas move, will migrate to the Southern Sea. The Southern Sea is the Pool of Heaven.
The *Qi Xie* is a book that records strange things. The *Xie* says: “When Peng migrates to the Southern Sea, it strikes the water for three thousand li, whirls up on a spiral wind to ninety thousand li, and departs on the sixth-month wind.”
The wild horse dust, the dust motes – these are blown about by the breath of living things. Is the sky’s deep blue its true color? Or is it because it is so far away and has no limit? When Peng looks down from above, it is just like this.
Note
Zhuangzi was extraordinarily talented, intelligent, and diligent. “His learning omitted nothing.” He was not born without the desire to serve the world. But “now the world is confused; though you have aspirations, you cannot attain them.” On one hand, a corrupt society where “he who steals a hook is executed, he who steals a state becomes a lord” made him disdain to join it. On the other hand, the reality that “princes and great men could not employ him” left him unable to fulfill his ambitions.
Since the human world was so foul that “one cannot speak seriously with it,” his freedom-seeking spirit had to soar in a world of imagination and seek release in absolute freedom. It was under these conditions that he wrote Xiaoyaoyou, the song of a troubled heart in pursuit of freedom.
Zhuangzi (庄子)
A foundational Daoist philosopher of the Warring States period (c. 369–286 BCE). The book Zhuangzi is famous for its imaginative parables, skepticism about conventional values, and ideal of living in harmony with the Dao.
Xiaoyaoyou (逍遥游)
“Free and Easy Wandering” or “Carefree Wandering.” The first chapter of the Zhuangzi. It describes the ideal of absolute freedom beyond ordinary limits.
Kun (鲲)
A giant fish in the Northern Sea. Its name suggests something vast and mysterious. It transforms into Peng.
Peng (鹏)
A giant bird transformed from Kun. Its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky. It flies ninety thousand li on the sixth-month wind. Peng is a symbol of great ambition and transformation, but still depends on the wind.
Northern Sea
“Beiming,” the Dark Sea or Northern Darkness. A symbol of the unknown, the dormant, the potential.
Southern Sea / Pool of Heaven
“Nanming,” the Southern Darkness, also called the Pool of Heaven. A symbol of the ultimate destination, the far-off, the infinite.
Qi Xie (齐谐)
A book of strange tales, possibly fictional. Zhuangzi cites it to give his story an air of authority and wonder. “Xie” means harmony or jest; the title suggests a collection of oddities.
Sixth-Month Wind (六月息)
The great wind that rises in the sixth month. Peng rides it to fly. “Xi” (息) means breath or rest; here it refers to the wind.
Wild Horse Dust
A Chinese term for the shimmering heat waves or floating vapors rising from the earth. It looks like galloping horses. Zhuangzi uses it to describe the subtle movements of life and breath.
Dust Motes
Tiny particles floating in sunlight. Like the wild horse dust, they are moved by the breath of living things. This suggests the interconnectedness of all life.
The Sky’s Deep Blue
Zhuangzi asks whether the sky’s blue is its true color or just an effect of distance. This is a classic Daoist question about perspective and reality.
“He who steals a hook is executed; he who steals a state becomes a lord” (窃钩者诛，窃国者侯)
A famous line from the Zhuangzi (Chapter 10, Quqie). It criticizes the hypocrisy of a world where small thieves are punished and great thieves are rewarded.
“One cannot speak seriously with it” (不可与庄语)
From the Zhuangzi. “Zhuang” means serious or solemn. The world is so muddy that one cannot speak seriously with it. Therefore Zhuangzi uses parables, humor, and paradox.
Without dependence (无待)
The highest freedom in the Zhuangzi is not just flying high like Peng, but depending on nothing at all. Peng still needs the wind. The truly free person needs nothing.
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