读庄子心得--中英文

一、

蝴蝶翩跹，自由不远

“昔者庄周梦为胡蝶，栩栩然胡蝶也，自喻适志与！不知周也。俄觉然，则蘧蘧然周也。不知周

之梦为胡蝶与，胡蝶之梦为周与？周与胡蝶，则必有分矣。此之谓物化。”（《庄子·齐物论》）①。

One night Zhuang Zhou dreamed that he had become a butterfly, a smug and very relaxing butterfly

which was flying about, completely forgetting he was still Zhuang Zhou. A moment later when he woke up,

he was wondering at the fact that he was still Zhuang Zhou. Coming to think of it, he did not know whether

he dreamed of turning into a butterfly, or a butterfly dreamed of becoming Zhuang Zhou. There must be a

difference between Zhuang Zhou and a butterfly, he thought. This might be called the physical intercourse

between the matter and himself.

这篇故事源于梦，却又不止于梦，当庄子梦到自己翩翩然翻飞时，他已忘记了自己的真实身份，

而那个梦带给他的大抵不只是在现实无处寻觅的悠闲自在，更多的是那份心境的自由。此处的自由不

是游弋于万物规矩之外的放荡，却又是冲出形骸忘掉规矩的释放；

My initial understanding of Zhuangzi began with my preliminary enlightenment of “The butterfly

dream of Chuang-tzu”. This story originated in a dream, but not limited to a dream. He forgot all about his

true identity when Zhuangzi dreamed he was trippingly dancing like a butterfly. What that dream brought

him was probably not just leisure and ease that cannot be found in reality, rather, it brought him the freedom

of mind. The freedom here does not mean libertinism outside the rules, but a desire released from his body

and a break of the rules;

自由不是心里解放的一时之快，而是进入“心”天地的满足感。蝴蝶破蛹奔向天际，它飞不到万丈

高空，也无法抵达未知星海，那样无边的位置的空间便不会是“自由”，双翼振动，飞翔，这也不是自

由。唯有全身心“浸”在飞翔中时才是自由。

Freedom is not a temporary relief from the liberation of one’s heart, but the satisfaction of getting into

the recess of one’s own heart. A butterfly breaks its pupa flying towards the sky, but it cannot reach the lofty

altitude, nor can it get to the unknown nebulous space. Such boundless space and dimension are not freedom,

neither is its ability to fly with flapping wings. Only when its mind is immersed in flying can it be called

free.

自古蝶恋花，花与蝶间的互相等待与邂逅中存在着自由，忽略了季节，忽略了时间，花瓣凋零，

花魂仍在。一定会有那样一朵花，被放到记忆的玻璃罩子里，易碎且弥足珍贵，耀眼却不敢触碰。花

色看似淡漠，却不自觉的在与阳光交辉的一刹那染着刺痛双眼的血红。蝶儿依依，花儿凄凄，花儿的

娇艳为了等待，等来的一定是蝴蝶翅膀的翩跹。资料中提到，庄子曾做过“漆园吏”（“漆园”是古代负

责漆树种植，漆器生产和管理的机构，“漆园吏”是这个机构的主管）②，对树林以及存在其中的生物

甚是了解，慢慢地，蝴蝶在他眼中就有了象征意义，对于困守园中的庄子来说，蝴蝶即自由。

From of old, butterflies love flowers. Freedom lies in their waiting for each other and their encounter

with each other, regardless of the season and time. Though the petals fade and wither, the spirit of the flower

is still there. Surely there will be such a special flower, delicate and precious, glaring but untouchable, which

is kept in the cloche of one’s memory. Its color, dim and indifferent as it seems, turns out to be glaringly

crimson when caught in the full beam of the sun.

The butterfly lingering and the flower fading, the flower’s delicacy and charm are for the sake of waiting

and it certainly will get to see the flapping and whirling of the butterfly’s wings. According to research

materials, Chuang Chou was used to be a Qiyuan official who was in charge of the institute of lacquer tree

planting, lacquer work production and administration, so he knew well about the woods/trees and the

creatures living in it/among them. Gradually, butterflies had a symbolic meaning of freedom for Chuang

Chou, who was confined in the garden.

我很难想象抛开身心去追寻自由之外的自由是怎样的心境，但我深知，那只蝶曾是有过的，也许

是应了那句“压抑之后才有爆发”吧。许多人在追求现实之外的自由，可终又回到自己给自己的“假象”

与“圈套”，我始终相信庄子在做梦时心中或潜意识中必定有着某种狂喜。故梦醒后分不清梦与现实的

边界。那段美梦该是虚渺多彩的吧。而庄子又是极其幸福的，因为他享受到了“境外”的自由，那种自

由是他朝思暮想又弥足珍贵的。

I find it hard to imagine what kind of state of mind it is when one pursues freedom beyond freedom in

spite of his heart and soul, but I know very well the scenario about that butterfly was true, which, perhaps,

corresponds to the old saying: Outbreak goes after depression. Many people are pursuing the freedom

beyond reality but eventually fall into their own illusion and trap set by themselves. I firmly believe that

there must have been some kind of ecstasy in his subconscious mind during his dream, so when he woke up

he could not distinguish the boundary between his dream and reality. The dream must have been quite

fantastic and colorful, so Chuang Chou was perfectly happy for he had enjoyed the freedom beyond reality,

the precious and rare freedom that he was longing for day and night.

二、 顺流“心性”，奔马海中游

每个人都渴望自由，若不是，便不会在自己制造的“假象”中不舍地徘徊，在此，我想将“追求自

由”归于人的天性中。自由对于“追求”这个动机而言是动作的“结果”，尚且不是所有企及自由的人都

能拥有。但我越发觉得，这天性在某些“规矩”之内已渐渐失色。《庄子·马蹄》中的一篇文章，那匹“蹄

可以践霜雪，毛可以御风寒，龁草饮水，翘足而陆” ③的千里马在遇到“善治马”的伯乐后，被“饥”、“渴”、

“驰”、“骤”、“整”，“齐”后，天性已经死去了十分之二三，我想，相比肉身之死，天性的消逝才是更

可怕的。就好像海水本该在“无边”中徜徉，若将其放于盆中，即使咸腥味刺鼻，海水也早已失去自由

奔流的“天性”。伯乐与千里马的相遇本该是喜剧的开始，人们也经常将此比作知己相逢。

Everyone is yearning for freedom; otherwise they wouldn’t linger on the illusion created by themselves.

Hereby I owe the pursuit of freedom to human nature. As to pursuit, the motivation, freedom is the result of

the action, but not all the people desiring for freedom can reach it. However, I come to think that the nature

is fading under the constraint of some certain rules. In one of the articles in Chuang tzu-Hooves，the swift

steed, with a good appetite for hay and water, could gallop in smothered snow, withstood the elements, and

rear up and leap when excited. But when it encountered the tamer, a talent scout named Bo Le, it underwent

a series of arduous training: hungered, thirsted, ridden, and tamed, etc.，after which its nature has lost one

third. I think that the dying of one’s nature is more terrible than the dying of the body, just as the sea water,

which should be tossing and tumbling in the boundless ocean, would far and away lose its nature of

free-flowing once been put into a basin, though the salty, pungent smell stays. The meeting between Bo Le

and the swift horse should be the beginning of a happy event, which, therefore, is often compared by people

to the encounter with a bosom friend.

心性适宜于静而不适于动，心静时，就会归于“顺其自然”地随波流转，如果以外物动之，必会背

道而驰，“背道而驰”像催化剂一样唤醒心中的“小我”，“本我”隐去，众所周知，人们的“小我”在集体

状态下，又必会引起纷乱④。生活中的纷乱使人迷茫，它并非生来就有，而是人将某种行为强加于事

所产生的反作用。庄子主张天地人物都要自在宽松，以沙为例，手中沙，握紧，流失；宽松，拥有。

人活于世，有太多想要拥有的“外物”，而心智中的“小我”正是依靠着这些外物一点点膨胀从而强化

“功能失调”的“自我感”。而此处的“自我感”不同于人在追求某种事物或成功时的“自我”。⑤人们付出

的代价是在“自愿”但无意中流失掉自己的心性，也就是真正的“本我”。

The mind calls for tranquility rather than motion. In serenity, the mind will go with the flow of nature;

if stirred by external force, it will run in the opposite direction, which acts as a catalyst, waking up the Id

from the bottom of my heart with the Ego hidden away. And as we all know, this state of individuality will

cause chaos and confusion in collective state. The chaos and confusion in everyday life make people feel

lost, and they are the counter production resulting from people’s imposition of some behaviors on the

matters rather than something inborn. Chuang Chou stated that all the matters should be in a comfortable

and relaxed state. For instance, the sand in your hand, if held tight, would slip through your fingers; if held

loose, would stay unreduced. Throughout one’s life, people crave for too many material things, depending

on which the Id grows stronger and stronger so as to strengthen the sense of self in function disorder.

However, this sense is different from the ego when people are pursuing certain material or success, and the

cost is to lose one’s mind, the inner self, voluntarily but unconsciously.

三、 顺从却不局限

对命运说“不”，因命运不该有任何迷信成分。但不可否认的是每种事物都有自己特有的形相，同

时也需要有与自身存在相适应的环境与条件。换句话说，要顺从事物自身的条件及需要，超出后必会

事与愿违。《齐谐》中提到鲲鹏展翅，飞向万丈高空，视地面的一切为尘埃。⑥“高处不胜寒”，只有

鲲鹏般的巨物才能对“寒”有那样的理解向度。换作小雀，它们无论如何也无法抵达高空，故无法理解

处在高位视一切为尘埃，远离是非的感受。而可悲的却是，小雀斑鸠这样身处一隅，见小识寡的人误

解了“向度之高远”，进而将鲲鹏之远大变为“嘲弄，讥讽”。殊不知，它们在蒿草见一叶障目之时，鲲

鹏已飞越云间，视它们为沧海天地中的一粟尘埃了。

Say "no" to Destiny, for fate doesn’t entail any superstitious element. But it is undeniable that each

thing has its own special shape and appearance, and at the same time also needs the environment and

conditions agreeable to itself. In other words, we must go with things according to their own conditions and

needs, or things will surely go contrary to our wishes. "The neat harmonic" mentioned that the roc flapped

its wings flying to the lofty altitude and regarded all the things on the ground as dust. For “the higher, the

colder”, only such a big creature as the roc can have a profound understanding of the coldness high above

the sky. For a small sparrow, unable to reach the high sky, would by no means understand the feeling of

regarding all the things on the ground as dust and staying away from right and wrong up high. Pathetically,

people living on the ground and ignorant as the small sparrow and turtledove, misunderstand the dimension

of the height and longitude and they ridicule and deride the roc. However, when their eyes are blocked out

by a leaf, they are considered as dust between the heaven and the earth by the roc that has already flown

through the clouds.

天地辽阔，以己见谏天下，非但不能理解天下，反而会暴露自己的无知与渺小。相反，那些以为

自己见识广博，才德兼收的人在面对“小雀”与“斑鸠”时，如若视其为怪异，也并非智慧。在这个复杂

的数轴上，零点的左右都是无限的，无论是鲲鹏或是小雀，在适应自己的特性与需要时流露出的自然

表现都是不可被反驳的。

The earth and the sky are vast and expansive. The one who admonishes the world from his own limited

point of view cannot help to understand the world but to expose his own ignorance and insignificance., and

On the contrary, it is not wise either for those who think they have extensive experience and excel in both

ability and virtue to consider the small sparrow and turtle dove grotesque when facing them. In this complex

number axis, both the right and the left of the zero point are infinite. Whether the roc or the small sparrow,

their natural expressions revealed in the process of the adaptation to their own characteristics and needs are

irrefutable.

庄子在《秋水》中描绘了一幅河水流入北海才懂得寰宇之内事物数量无穷尽的道理⑦，“河水”

的自大来自于心里某种失调的“期待”。而北海很大，却知晓在天地之中“大小”本是抽象的，再大也无

需自大，再小也无需自鄙(despise)。但现实中，大与小却又是看似实在的，所以有了“嗤之以鼻”和“妄