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2 Zhuangzi
2 莊子
Zhuangzi was probably the poorest among the philosophers before the Qin Dynasty. During the difficult times, according to his disciples, he had to earn his living by making straw sandals and even borrowed food from others when he did not know where his next meal would come from.
在先秦哲學家中，莊子可能算是最窮困的了。根據他弟子的說法，在生活窘迫的時候，他就靠打草鞋過日子，甚至是吃了上頓沒下頓，不得不向別人借糧過日子。
Once he went to see the King of Wei in a patched dress of coarse cloth and a pair of straw sandals with broken strings, but he was not at all bothered about it. When the King of Wei asked him why he was so distressed, he immediately replied that he was not distressed, but just poor and born at the wrong time, just like a monkey finding itself among prickly thorns, trapped in an unfavorable situation, with its hands and feet tied, not being able to bring its abilities to full play.
有一次他去見魏王，穿的是補了又補的粗布衣服，草鞋上的帶子也是斷了再接的，但他卻覺得無所謂。所以當魏王問他為什么如此潦倒時，莊子馬上說：“我不是潦倒，只是窮，是生不逢時；就像一只落在荊棘叢里的猴子，在不利的環境中，被捆住了手腳，不能充分施展自己的才能?！?/div>
Here is another story in Records of the Grand Historian. Hearing that Zhuangzi was very talented, King Wei of Chu sent two envoys with a big reward to invite him to be the prime minister. Zhuangzi said to the envoys with a smile, “A thousand pieces of gold is indeed a large sum and the prime minister is of course a high position, but you might as well take a look at the ox serving as the sacrificial offering. It can usually enjoy good food and beautiful clothes. But once it becomes the sacrificial offering, it’s no longer possible to live as carefree as a piglet. Please leave and do not try to corrupt me. I would rather be like a small fish having fun in the mud than being constrained by the lords.”
《史記》中記載了這樣一件事，楚威王聽說莊子很有才干，就派兩名使臣帶重金見他，邀請他來當宰相。 莊子笑著對使者說：“千金固然是重利，宰相也當然是高位，但你們不妨看看那祭祀的牛，雖然平時吃的是美味，披的是錦衣，但一旦成為祭品，想做自由的小豬也不可能了。你們快走開，不要玷污我，我寧愿像一條小魚，在泥水中快樂地游來游去，也不愿受君主們的束縛。
In another story, Zhuangzi compared himself to the noble phoenix, dismissing the high position of the prime minister held by his friend Hui Shi as a rotten rat.
在另一個故事中，莊子把自己比喻為高雅的鳳凰，而他的朋友惠施所任的宰相這一高位就像腐爛的老鼠，令人不恥。
