盜跖斥孔子
Robber Zhi Rebukes Confucius
盜跖大怒曰："丘來前！夫可規以利而可諫以言者，皆愚陋恆民之謂耳。今長大美好，人見而悅之者，此吾父母之遺德也，丘雖不吾譽，吾獨不自知邪？"
Robber Zhi raged: 'Come here, Confucius! Those who can be swayed by profit and admonished with words are nothing but stupid, ignorant commoners. My height, my build, my good looks that please everyone who sees me — these are gifts from my parents. Even without your praise, don't I know myself?'
Notes
Chapter 29 is the most provocative in the Zhuangzi. Robber Zhi — a bandit chief commanding nine thousand followers — systematically dismantles Confucius's moral philosophy. He argues that civilization's 'sages' (Yao, Shun, the Yellow Emperor) were actually the source of disorder, and that life is too short for moral posturing. The chapter is likely a later addition, but its radical energy is unmistakably Zhuangist.