天運

The Turning of Heaven

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至仁無親

The Highest Benevolence Has No Kin

商大宰盪問仁於莊子。莊子曰："虎狼，仁也。"曰："何謂也？"莊子曰："父子相親，何為不仁！"曰："請問至仁。"莊子曰："至仁無親。"

The Grand Steward of Song asked Zhuangzi about benevolence. Zhuangzi said: 'Tigers and wolves are benevolent.' 'What do you mean?' 'Father and son show affection to each other — how is that not benevolent?' 'I was asking about the highest benevolence.' Zhuangzi said: 'The highest benevolence has no kin.'

Notes

1context

By calling tigers and wolves 'benevolent' because they care for their young, Zhuangzi deflates the Confucian concept of benevolence (仁) as merely a sophisticated version of animal instinct. The 'highest benevolence has no kin' (至仁無親) pushes beyond all particular attachments to a universal, non-discriminating compassion — or perhaps beyond compassion altogether.

東施效顰

The Ugly Woman Imitates the Beauty

故西施病心而顰其里，其里之醜人見之而美之，歸亦捧心而顰其里。其里之富人見之，堅閉門而不出；貧人見之，挈妻子而去之走。彼知顰美而不知顰之所以美。

Xi Shi, suffering from heartache, frowned at her neighbors. An ugly woman of the neighborhood saw her and thought she was beautiful. She went home and, pressing her hand to her heart, frowned at her neighbors too. When the rich people of the neighborhood saw her, they bolted their doors and would not come out. When the poor people saw her, they grabbed their wives and children and ran. The ugly woman knew that frowning was beautiful, but she did not know what made frowning beautiful.

Notes

1person西施Xī Shī

Xi Shi (西施) was one of the legendary Four Beauties of ancient China. This parable became a famous Chinese idiom (東施效顰, 'the ugly woman imitates the frown') meaning to blindly copy something without understanding its essence — as those who copy the sages' outward forms without grasping the inner spirit.

Edition & Source

Text: 《莊子》 Zhuangzi
Edition: 《四部叢刊》本
Commentary: Traditional Daoist commentaries