My Skilled Master Helps Cattle
My master is Liang Zainiu. Hands touching the ground, shoulders leaning on the ground, feet treading on the ground, knees touching the ground, there is no rhythm when entering the knife: it conforms to the rhythm of Sanglin (in Tang) dance music and Jing Shou (in Yao) music.
Liang said, "Hey, good! How can technology (you know cows) be so superb? "
My master put down the knife and replied, "I pay attention to the law of understanding cows, which has exceeded the general technology." At first, when I slaughtered the cow, I saw a complete cow in my eyes; Several years have passed, and I have never seen a complete cow again. Now, I am in contact with cows by spirit, not by eyes. My senses stopped, but my spirit was moving. According to the natural physiological structure of cattle, cut into the gap between the bones and muscles of cattle and eat along the gap between joints. According to the original structure of the cow, the place where the tendons are connected and the bones are combined, the knife has never touched it, let alone the big bone! Skilled chefs change a knife every year and cut it with a knife (just like we cut a rope with a knife); A skilled cook has to change a knife every month. The knife is broken by cutting bones. Now, my knife has been used for 19 years, killing thousands of cows, but the blade is as sharp as if it had just been sharpened on a grindstone. There are gaps in the joints of cattle and the blade is very thin; If you insert a thin blade into a cracked bone joint, there must be room for the blade to operate! Therefore, for 19 years, the blade was only ground from the grindstone. Even so, whenever I meet the place where the bones and muscles are intertwined, I see that it is difficult to cut, so I carefully raise my vigilance, focus on one point, slow down, move the knife very lightly, and with a sigh, the bones and meat of the cow are suddenly untied, just like mud scattered on the ground. I stood up with a knife in my hand and looked around. I am carefree and satisfied with it, and then I clean it and collect it. "
Liang said, "Good! After listening to my words, I understand the truth of health. "
original text
Work as skillfully as a skilled butcher cuts the carcass of a cow-do sth very skillfully/professionally.
Author: Zhuangzi? pre-Qin period
My skilled hands, my shoulders, my feet, my knees and my knife are all in harmony. The dance combined with mulberry forest is a chance for quiet life.
Wen said, "Hey, good! So much for technical coverage? "
My master put a knife on him and said, "I am good at what I do, and my technology is advanced." When the first minister solved the cow, he saw nothing but the cow. I haven't seen all the cows for three years. At this time, I saw God instead of looking at him. Zhi Zhi was an official and wanted to do something. According to heaven, we should criticize and guide the big ones, because the technology and experience are certainly not bad, but the situation is excellent! A good man is a better cutter; There are many knives and many folds in the family month. Today, I killed thousands of cows with my sword for nineteen years, but if the blade is new. There is a gap between people for a while, but the blade is not thick; Without thickness, there will be room for recovery, so 19 years, the blade is still new. Although, as for the competition, I think it is difficult, it is a warning that it is too late to act now. The knife is very small, and what should be solved has been solved, such as land. Stand with a knife, look around, aim high, and hide it with a knife. "
Wen said, "Good! I listened to my master and I have to stay healthy. "
Make an appreciative comment
This article is Zhuangzi's fable of "keeping in good health". The article begins with a vivid description of "Sister Niu". With a strong pen and ink, the author shows his leisurely expression and harmonious movements when trying to solve the problem of cattle. All hands, shoulders, feet and knees are used together, touching, leaning, stepping and touching cooperate with each other, and everything seems so harmonious and natural.
The beauty of my answer is not limited to "skill". The reason why "skill stops here" is because "Tao" and "my lover, Tao also, skill also." And thus tells the story of seeking "Tao" and being good at "technique" This paragraph is the essence of the full text. In order to explain how "Tao" is superior to "skill", the article uses two comparisons: one is the comparison between the beginning and three years later, and the other is the comparison between skilled workers and ordinary chefs. At the beginning of my understanding of cattle, I saw a complete cow; Three years later, I haven't seen the whole cow, but I know the natural structure of the cow, the gap between bones and muscles and the joints like the back of my hand. Ordinary kitchen workers do not understand the internal organization of cattle and blindly cut bones with knives; Although a good cook can avoid bones, he will inevitably cut tendons with a knife. My master is not. He didn't feel the cow with his senses, but "looked at the cow with his heart instead of his eyes, and he longed to walk with Zhi Zhi". He experienced the cow in spirit, followed the nature, chose the gap, split the tendon and led it to the empty joint, and followed the natural structure of the cow. It is the pursuit of Taoism to conform to nature and integrate things with me. It is my skill that makes him advance from "skill" to "Tao", achieving perfection and superb skills. "It can be solved with a small knife, just like the earth." These twelve words describe the effect of my cow-solving skills. The right method can not only solve the cow quickly, but also won't damage the knife. /kloc-in the past 0/9 years, thousands of cows have been solved, but a knife has not been changed, and the blade is still sharp. This is of course incredible for a junior chef who changes a knife every month. The difference lies in their pursuit of "technology", while my ambition is "Tao".
On the relationship between "skill" and "Tao" Zhuangzi School believes that "technology" and "Tao" are interlinked. "Tao" is higher than "technology", and "technology" is subordinate to "Tao"; Only when "technology" conforms to "Tao" can technology be pure and refined. The essence of Tao lies in natural inaction, and the perfection of Shu lies in natural inaction. It is through the "skills" of skilled craftsmen that Wen understands the "Tao" of health preservation. The fundamental method of health preservation is to conform to nature. Obviously, it is Zhuangzi's image metaphor of the method of keeping in good health that he knows how to treat cows.
Zhuangzi's theories of "depending on nature" and "because of its nature" objectively reveal how people realize freedom in practice. The "justice" and "process" mentioned in this paper, if extended, can also be understood as the external objective things that people face. Although it will bring such restrictions or obstacles to those who yearn for freedom, wise people are not helpless in front of it. As long as they know it and obey it, they can be as free and easy as my master. In this regard, Zhuangzi once made a very subtle analysis: "There is a gap in the knot, but the blade is not thick; Without thickness, there is room for recovery. " Festival is insurmountable, but after all, there is a gap, which provides a world for people to "swim". As long as they are good at displaying their skills in this world, they are also free. The word "wandering blade" vividly shows that Niu Xieshi lives in harmony with nature and transcends the deified realm of nature.
This fable is intended to clarify "keeping in good health", in fact, it also expounds a profound aesthetic proposition, that is, artistic creation is a free creation. Zhuangzi's prose is good at using visual reasoning. This fable uses a variety of techniques such as exaggeration, contrast, contrast and description. It shows the skillful skills, leisurely manner, graceful movements, harmonious rhythm and natural and unrestrained body and mind of an understanding cow. Specifically, the main features of this article in writing are:
First, the structure is tight. The full text is divided into two parts, first telling the story (the first and second paragraphs) and then pointing out the meaning (the third paragraph). As far as the story is concerned, it is divided into two layers, that is, from writing "skills" to saying "Tao". First, I describe my superb skills in understanding cows, and then I explain his way of understanding cows. The writing skills of My Master are first described directly, then summarized by the admiration of the writer, and transferred to my conversation. The exposition of Tao is divided into three aspects: first, it introduces the three stages of mastering Tao vertically, highlighting the characteristics after mastering Tao; Secondly, from the horizontal aspect, I will compare my master with the good master and the master, and explain the similarities and differences between them. Third, it shows that the thorny issue of "clan" has been successfully solved. The full text expounds a word "Tao" around the incident of solving cattle, from concrete to abstract, interlocking, and making the truth clear.
Second, the language is vivid and concise. For example, the movements of writing hands, shoulders, feet and knees only need to touch, lean, walk and squat to reflect their own characteristics. Use "hey! Very good! So much for technical coverage? " These eight words (empty word and semi-empty word) will truly reflect Wen's thoughts and feelings of surprise, admiration and incomprehension caused by his superb skills in understanding cattle.
To annotate ...
Dongpoping: A kitchen worker in Ming Ding. Ancient books in the pre-Qin period often put occupation before name.
Text: Liang, also known as.
Solution for cattle: Slaughter cattle, which means peeling and splitting the whole body of cattle.
Yǐ: Support, contact. This refers to pushing a cow with one knee.
Yi (xū) ran: onomatopoeia. Suddenly, the sound of skin and bone separation. Come on, through the ring.
ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū ū 36
Sang Lin: The legendary song title of Shang Tang.
Buddhist Scripture: A chapter in the legendary Yao song "Fairy Pool". Will: refers to the rhythm. The above two sentences are intertextual, that is, "it is a meeting suitable for mulberry trees, the first classic dance."
Hey: Wow.
Guy: Pass "hé", why and how.
Enter: exceed.
Official knowledge: This refers to vision. Desire: refers to mental activity.
Tian Li: refers to the natural physiological structure of cattle.
Batch: hit a big gap. Batch: strike. I: gap。
Guide rail (ku ǐ n): Feed along the space (between joints).
Reason: according to. Of course: refers to the original structure of the cow body.
Source: Zhuangzi
Literary genre: prose
Famous comments
The Essence of Philosophy-Zhuangzi by Luo Longzhi: Zhuangzi used the structure of a cow to describe the intricacies of the world. People who don't know how to use a knife kill cattle and chop them hard, just like people who don't know the truth, they rampage in the world and lose their form and spirit in vain. ? [8]?
Zhang Gengguang, a professor at Guizhou University, translated Zhuang Ziquan: A kitchen worker decomposes cows to compare people's health, indicating that life and life should be "based on nature" and "based on heaven", and only by taking the imaginary "space" can we be "free", thus avoiding the entanglement between right and wrong and contradiction.
Creation background
Zhuangzi lived in the middle of the Warring States Period, which was a very intense social transformation period. China society has experienced great changes of "the high shore is the valley and the deep valley is the mausoleum". Social unrest makes people miserable, and people in troubled times are full of confusion about life and the future. In view of the fact that people can't let their nature live freely in the cruel reality and can't enjoy life in the face of ruthless destruction, Zhuangzi was forced to be cautious at any time and place, adapt in time and not seek harm. He wants to find a gap in the joint of complex struggle, and use it as a comfortable nest to save his life, so as to survive in this troubled times with ease. This fable embodies this mentality.
Brief introduction of the author
Zhuangzi (about 369 BC-286 BC) was a philosopher in the Warring States period and a representative of the Taoist school. Zhou was born in Song Dynasty (now northeast of Shangqiu, Henan Province). I used to be a painter. Poor family, but refused to Chu Weiwang's thick coins. He inherited Laozi's view that Tao is natural, denied the existence of the creator of heaven, and thought that everything originated from Tao, and human life and death was only a short link in the development of Tao. His philosophical thought reached the height of thinking and had a great influence on later generations. His articles open and close vertically and horizontally, change for no reason, and use fables, and his imagination is rich and strange, which occupies an important position in the history of prose development. His works include Zhuangzi.