Zhuangzi used "one finger of heaven and earth, one horse for all things" to illustrate that in fact, all things can be called any name, because the name is an illusory generalization, and all things themselves are a substantial existence, which is not subject to man's subjective will. In this sense, all things are actually one, which is Zhuangzi's theory of qi.
"Heaven and earth are one finger, and all things are one horse", this epistemology of "qi things" requires us to look at problems from the perspective of the Tao, rather than using personal intentions and private opinions. Because once people look at all things with a heart, there will be meaningless right and wrong and arguments, but they cannot explore the true nature of things, and thus they are blinded. And once you can't know the world, you can't know life, so you are at a loss for anxiety in the world.
In this section, Zhuangzi continues to discuss the theory of qi, and the focus of this section is on the fact that things have two ends to each other, so it is necessary to look at the problem from both ends of things.
Zhuangzi said:
It's okay, it's not okay. The Way is made, and the thing is called. There is self-also, there is self-and-cannot; there is self-also, there is self-also, there is self-also and not. Evil? Of course. Evil or not? Otherwise, it is not. Things are inherently what is, things are inherently possible. Nothing is not, nothing is indispensable. Therefore, it is to lift the Ying and the Yang, the Li and the Xi Shi, the restoration of the strange, and the Tao tong as one.
Zhuangzi said: What is right is right, what is wrong is said to be wrong, the road is made by people walking, and things are named by people. What's right? What is right is that it is right in itself; what is wrong is that it is inherently wrong. Right, there is a reason for it; wrong, there are also wrong reasons. Why is, there is a reason for it; in the same way, why it is wrong, there is a reason why it is wrong. Everything has a place where it is, and there is a place where it is not. Things have a yes side, there is a good side, there is nothing that is not, and nothing is impossible. So, if you look at the little grass and the big trees, the ugly women and the beautiful Xi Shi, and all the strange things, from the perspective of the Tao, all things, although they have different postures, are actually the same.
Zhuangzi gives two very interesting examples. The grass is insignificant, but there is something smaller than the grass, and the grass also has its uses; the big pillar roof beam frame house is very large, but there are also things larger than the big wood, the big wood can not replace the small grass, the small grass can not replace the function of the big wood. And for the grass and the big trees, they each do their best, that is, each of them has its own place. The ugly woman who has sores is ugly, that is compared with Xi Shi, if the ugly woman is compared to the ugly woman, then the ugly woman is beautiful. Besides, in the eyes of a lover, I like a person, even though she is ugly in the eyes of others, but in my eyes, she is the most beautiful woman in the world.
Therefore, in this sense, the so-called big and small beauty and ugliness are only people's subjective value judgments, not factual judgments. There is no fixed standard of value between small and large, beautiful and ugly, they are all the products of human subjective judgment. Therefore, the reason why human beings are confused, why they are drawn to riches and fame, and why they care about those successes and failures, honors and disgraces, are all from one aspect of things to see the problem. If we can abandon subjective prejudices and look at things from each other's ends, we will find that all things are one and the same.
In the next section, Zhuangzi continues to expound his theory of "the tao is one."
Its division is also, and its division is also; its division is also destroyed. Whatever is accomplished and destroyed, it is compounded into one.
The only one who knows is one, and the one who does not use it is alluded to in all means. Because it has been. I don't know what it is, it's the way.
The god Ofura is one and does not know its sameness, which is called "Chao San". What is "Chao San"? The Sniper Gong endowed the man with the words, "Towards three and twilight at four." "The snipers are angry. "Then it is four and three." "Everyone is happy. The name is not lost and the mood is used, and it is also because it is also. It is a saint and a right and a wrong, and it is two lines.
Zhuangzi said that everything has its share and has also been accomplished. The other side of what is successful is ruin. Therefore, from the perspective of the whole, it does not matter what is achieved or destroyed, they are all returned to a whole.
Only well-versed people can know the truth that things are the same and the same, so they do not use their subjective prejudices but only see the superficial function of things, but put their views on ordinary things. Going with nature without exploring its causes is called the Tao.
Those Confucian scholars, they argue with all their hearts and minds, try to unify others with their own point of view, but they do not know that things are originally the same, which is called "Chao San". What is "Chao San"? The monkey keeper gave the monkeys acorns and said, "Three litres in the morning and four litres in the evening." The monkeys were furious when they heard this. The monkey keeper then changed his mouth and said, "Then four liters in the morning and three liters in the evening." "The monkeys were delighted. Neither the name nor the reality has changed, but the monkey's mood has changed. This is just following the subjective psychological changes of the monkeys. Therefore, the saints are not at all attached to the argument of right and wrong, but according to the principle of the natural equilibrium of things, this practice is called "two lines".
Zhuangzi emphasized that things have two ends and two sides. Dividing and becoming, becoming and destroying, seem to be completely different, but in essence, they are two sides of the same thing. For example, a tree is carved into a work of art, which is called cheng, and in its place the wholeness of the tree is destroyed; a piece of cloth is made, and a piece of cloth is divided. Therefore, the way to really look at the world is not to look at the problem without our own prejudices, but to see the essence behind the things, that is, the natural way things are.
Zhuangzi used the story of "three and four nights" to tell us that we must learn to look at the world from the perspective of "the tao is unified", and integrate right and wrong into the way of nature, Zhuangzi called this method "two lines", that is, yes and no, non- also, success is also OK, destruction is also OK, do not make the only value judgment.
To apply this "two-line" view to life, it should be like this: We should be old people who keep monkeys, follow the way of nature, let the world's right and wrong, and make it develop in parallel; instead of just seeing the side that is beneficial to ourselves, winning is great joy, losing is great sorrow, and the mood is moody, just like those monkeys who are in the twilight.
In fact, success and failure, honor and disgrace, are just two sides of the same thing, and there is no change in essence. Therefore, clinging to the right and wrong of life will only make us as shallow and ignorant as the monkeys in the twilight.