Notes and Translation of "My Skilled Master Helps Cattle"
My expert is Wen Jie (1). My hands, shoulders, feet, knees (2), knives (3) and knives (4) are all alto. Dance in the mulberry forest (5) is the first encounter of the classic (6).
Wen said, "You (7) are good! So far (8)? "
My master drew a knife and said to him, "Those who are good at me, good at Taoism and high in skills (9). 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 moment, I saw God instead of looking at him. Zhi Zhi is an official with a desire to do things (10). According to the laws of Heaven (1 1), we approved Daying (12) and Brother Dao (13) because they are (14). Skills and experience are not bad (15), but the situation is very bad (16)! Guo Liang changed his knife (17); Clans change knives for months (18) and fold (19). I worked with my sword for nineteen years and solved thousands of cows. If the blade is newly developed (20). That section has a notch (2 1), but the blade is not thick; Without thickness, there will be room for recovery (22), so if the blade is newly developed after 19 years. Although, as for the game (23), I think it is very difficult, but this is a warning (24), and it is too late to act now. The moving knife was solved when it was very young (25), such as the Soil Commission (26). Stand with a knife, look around for it, be full of ambition, and hide it with a good knife (27). "
Wen Huijun said, "It's great. I can keep healthy after listening to my words."
Explanation of words:
(1) Dong (robe) Ding: a famous chef. 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.
(2) ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ ǐ 4
(3) Yi (Xu) Ran: Onomatopoeia, which describes the sound of separation of skin and bone. Ran Ran: There is a cloud in the classic interpretation, or there is no word "Ran Ran". There is no word "Ran" in this book, yes.
(4) Hubuhuo (Hubuhuo) Ran: Onomatopoeia words, which describe the sound of getting into the knife to solve the cow is louder than that.
(5) "Sanglin": the legendary musical title of King Shang Tang.
(6) The First Classic: a chapter in the legendary Yao song "Fairy Pool". Will: Syllables. The above two sentences are intertextual, that is, "it is a meeting suitable for mulberry trees, the first classic dance."
(7) Xi: praise (or: preach "ah?" )。
(8) Cover: same as "bad"; That is, "he".
(9) propulsion: exceeding.
(10) official knowledge: this refers to the field of vision. Desire: refers to mental activity.
(1 1) Tian Li: refers to the natural texture of cattle.
(12) batch: crack down on splitting. But: the same gap.
(13) Tao: same as "guide", with. ψ (kǔan): the cavity of the joint.
(14) reason: according to. Of course: refers to the original structure of the cow body.
(15) Technical Classics: You also talk about meridians. Technology, according to the textual research of Yu Yue in Qing Dynasty, is a mistake of the word "branch" and refers to a branch. Meridian, meridian ken: flesh sticks to bone. Qi (green): the place where bones and muscles gather. The prepositional object is "unskilled and willing to work" and has never been tasted.
(16): the big bone of the thigh.
(17) Cutting: This refers to raw cutting and hard cutting.
(18) family: numerous, which means ordinary.
(19) Fold: break the bone with a knife.
(20) hair: out. Xi (punishment xǐng): whetstone.
Section (2 1): joint. Gap: gap.
(22) restored: generous appearance.
(23) home: refers to the intersection of bones and muscles.
I feel horrible. However, I look very alert.
(25) Zhi Zhe: Same as Ran Zhi. Ran Zhi: Describe the separation of flesh and blood in cattle.
(26) Entrusted land: scattered on the ground.
(27) Good knife: clean the knife.
(28) Health care: refers to the way of health care.
This fable is selected from Zhuangzi? Inside? The book "Health Master" is intended to clarify "health". Explain that things in the world are complicated. As long as you practice repeatedly and master its objective laws, you can be handy, use it freely and solve it easily.
The article narrates and discusses alternately, with distinct levels. When writing about slaughtering cattle, the movements are beautiful and the skills are superb; After success, the ambition, lofty sentiments, lifelike and fascinating. The language is vivid and vivid, and the idioms of "arrogance", "freedom" and "complacency" all come from this article.
Translation of My Skillful Hands Helping Cattle
There is a chef named Ding who specializes in slaughtering cattle. Wherever his hands touch, his shoulders rest, his feet step on, and his knees stand, he makes a sound of separation of flesh and blood, and the knife goes in, making a louder noise. All these sounds are not out of tune. In tune with the dance rhythm accompanied by Sang Lin and Jing Shou.
Liang said, "Hey! All right! How can your technology be so clever? "
My master put down the knife and replied, "I am exploring the law of things, which has surpassed the pursuit of cattle slaughter technology." When I first started slaughtering cattle, I only saw the whole cow (I don't know the structure of the cow). After three years, I will never see the whole cow again. Now, when the lieutenants slaughter cattle, they only need to touch the body of the cattle with their minds, without looking at it with their eyes, just as the sensory organs stop moving and are moving with their mental will. Along the grain structure of cattle, splitting the big gap between bones and muscles, and making knives along the holes between joints are all along the original structure of cattle. The knife for slaughtering cattle has never touched the place where the meridians are connected, or where the muscles attached to the bones gather, let alone the big bones of the thighs. Skilled chefs change a knife every year because they use it to cut meat. Ordinary chefs change a knife every month because it is used to cut bones. Now the servant's knife has been used for 19 years, killing thousands of cows, but the blade looks like it has just been ground from the grindstone. There are cracks in the joints of cattle, but the blade is not thick. If you use such a thin blade to pierce a seam with a gap, you must be generous and have room to operate the blade. Therefore, after using 19 years, the blade still looks like it has just been ground from the grindstone. Even so, every time I meet a place where bones and muscles are intertwined, I am afraid and cautious when I see that it is difficult to get a knife, my eyes are focused and my movements are slow. The knife moved gently, and the flesh and blood separated with a crash, like a pile of mud scattered on the ground. I stood there, knife in hand, looking around proudly for this success, looking carefree and satisfied. Wipe the knife clean and put it away. "
Liang said, "Good! I listened to my words and learned the way of keeping in good health. "
Overall appreciation
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 sound is vivid, and the knife is vivid." The sound of separation of cattle's flesh and blood, the sound of cutting cattle's bones, sometimes light and sometimes heavy, alternating with ups and downs, the sound can be heard. Then he sighed with Wen: "Good! Technical cover ends here! " It is further pointed out that we know how to understand the "god" of cattle, paving the way for the later theory from Syria to cattle.
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 cows, 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 technology 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. Only by "harmony between man and nature" (Zhuangzi's success) and combining man's inner nature with his outer nature can we reach the highest level of "technology". I am a skilled worker, so I can become a leader in solving cattle. On the other hand, there is a way in "technology", from which we can view "Tao". "Skills can help, things can help, righteousness can help, virtue can help, virtue can help, and Tao can help" (Zhuangzi Heaven and Earth). 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 "depending on nature" and "because of its nature" objectively reveal the problem of 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. Of course, the understanding of "course" is not once and for all. Even a skilled person like me, whenever his bones and muscles are knotted, he is always careful, "I dare not take a warning, dare not read more, dare not go late", so I must not be careless at all, I can only pursue it tirelessly and never slack off.
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 believes that there is "skill" in "skill". Zhihu knows the movements of cattle, which is quite artistic and ornamental. His performance is like a beautiful music and dance, with the dance steps matched with the dance music of Sanglin and the rhythm matched with the brilliant movement of Xianchi. As a creative activity with beautiful significance, it fascinates viewers. The expression of "standing with a knife, looking around, full of ambition" makes people see the joy of the creator's inner satisfaction after the work is completed.
Zhuangzi reveals that beauty is a kind of free creation through clever expression. The creation of this kind of beauty must achieve the unity of conformity with the law ("because it is natural") and conformity with the purpose ("to the point") in order to reach the realm of freedom ("to be comfortable"). "Meeting God without looking at him, and wanting to do things with Zhi Zhi as an official" is an essential state of mind in creation, which emphasizes eliminating all sensory interference and concentrating, which is consistent with what Qing Zi said when he cut his body in Zhuangzi Sheng Da, "fasting with Zen" and "forgetting myself has four shapes". This state of "contemplation" and "forgetting" is the same as that of "contemplation" and "contemplation" emphasized by modern western aesthetics, but it is 2 100 years earlier than Schopenhauer and Nietzsche.
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. This is from general to special. These three aspects are closely related to the ways of "following nature" and "because of its nature". My answer to the first sentence of Wen is naturally to associate writing skills with speaking. The way of keeping in good health mentioned in My Clever Words also plays a role in controlling the whole text and revealing the theme. The full text expounds a word "Tao" around the incident of solving cattle, from concrete to abstract, nuanced and interlocking, and makes the truth clear and thorough.
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, which embodies 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 due to his superb skills in understanding cattle. The words "I'm afraid to take a warning, do it according to my will, act late, and seldom use a knife" vividly depict my inner activities, eyes and actions that are focused, cautious and full of confidence when solving special difficulties, in sharp contrast to my carefree actions and demeanor because of difficulties.
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.