Zhuangzi 1.7
惠子謂莊子曰：「吾有大樹，人謂之樗。其大本擁腫而不中繩墨，其小枝卷曲而不中規矩，立之塗，匠者不顧。今子之言，大而無用，眾所同去也。」莊子曰：「子獨不見狸狌乎？卑身而伏，以候敖者；東西跳梁，不避高下；中於機辟，死於罔罟。今夫斄牛*，其大若垂天之雲。此能為大矣，而不能執鼠。今子有大樹，患其無用，何不樹之於無何有之鄉，廣莫之野，彷徨乎無為其側，逍遙乎寢臥其下？不夭斤斧，物無害者，無所可用，安所困苦哉！」
Huizi spoke to Zhuangzi, saying: "I have a great tree, people call it Ailanthus. It's great root gathers and swells but matches no carpenter’s line; it's small branches curl and crook and fit no compass or square; standing in the mud (by the roadside), no craftsman (gives it) a second look. Now sir, your words, are great but have no use, the people all agree in discarding (what you say).
Zhuangzi said: “Have you alone never seen a wildcat or a weasel? It's body low, crouching, [until] some wandering creature [appears]; east and west it leaps about, failing to avoid (things) high or low, [it] falls into a snare or dies in a net. Now sir, [consider] the Wooly Yak, its greatness like clouds suspended from the heavens. It can be considered great, indeed, but cannot catch a mouse. Now, sir has this great tree, and worries it is without use. Why not plant it in a deserted village, or a broad, empty field? [1] [Why not] meander without purpose by its side, or freely and easily sleep beneath its (boughs)? Not cut short by axes or hatchets, things not harming it - why is there any distress![2]
Notes:
中 zhòng fit, match, accord; hit the target
塗 tú mud = 途 tú way, road, route
辟 = 繴 bì fishing net
斄 = 彊曲毛 qiáng qū máo stubborn, curly wool
無為 without purpose
彷徨 walk aback and forth, undecided (meander)
逍遙 free and unfettered
Comments:
[1]I really like Watson’s “Not-Even-Anything Village” and the “Field-of-Broad-and-Boundless.”
[2]Translations vary on the target of the phrase (either Huizi or the tree), but it’s worth noting the phrase is ambiguous. Surrendering the concept of instrumental utility relieves both Huizi and the Ailanthus (although, perhaps “releaves” might be more appropriate in the case of the tree).
