Content created: 2011-10-04
File last modified:
The following wee story comes from the writings attributed to Zhuāngzǐ 庄子 of the IVth century BC. It is probably not the most famous passage in that whole collection, but it is my favorite.
It is difficult to render this text into compelling English because the punch line depends upon a pun of the word ān 安, which means both "how" and "where." I have used the clumsy translation "from what" in order to try to keep the pun. The whimsically implausible expression "Joy of Fish" is just as silly in Chinese as it is in English, and also adds to the story's charm, so I have preferred to translate it very literally.
The usual interpretation is that lurking behind the silliness of the story is a more profound question about how we know what we know, and what the limits of rational inquiry are, a question that Zhuāngzǐ wisely sidesteps with his pun because he considers the answer to be unknowable. Surface silliness has therefore not kept the story from being an object of scholarly attention. For example, in 2015 a 336-page volume of essays about this little story was published by the University of Hawai'i Press (Roger T. Ames & Takahiro Nakajima, eds. 2015, Zhuangzi and the Happy Fish. ISBN: 978-082-484-6848).
| 1. Zhuāngzǐ 庄子 and Huìzǐ 惠子 were strolling on a bridge over the River Háo 濠. |
庄子与惠子游于濠梁之上。 Zhuāngzǐ yǔ Huìzǐ yóu yú Háo liáng zhīshàng. 莊子與惠子游於濠梁之上。 |
| 2. Zhuāngzǐ said: "The fish are out swimming about. That is the 'Joy of Fish.'" |
庄子曰：「鯈鱼出游从容，是鱼之乐也。」 Zhuāngzǐ yuē: "Chóu yú chūyóu cóngróng, shì yú zhī lè yě." 莊子曰：「鯈魚出游從容，是魚之樂也。」 |
| 3. Huìzǐ replied: "You are not a fish; from what do you know the joy of fish? |
惠子曰︰「子非鱼，安知鱼之乐？」 Huìzǐ yuē︰ "Zǐ fēi yú, ān zhī yú zhī lè?" 惠子曰︰「子非魚，安知魚之樂？」 |
| 4. "Zhuāngzǐ said: "You are not I; from what do you know whether I know the joy of fish?" |
庄子曰：「子非我，安知我不知鱼之乐？」 Zhuāngzǐ yuē: "Zǐ fēi wǒ, ān zhī wǒ bùzhī yú zhī lè?" 莊子曰：「子非我，安知我不知魚之樂？」 |
| 5. Huìzǐ reposted: "I am not you, and so I can't know. It follows that since you are not a fish, you can't know the joy of fish. So there!" |
惠子曰「我非子，固不知子矣；子固非鱼也，子之不知鱼之乐，全矣！」 Huìzǐ yuē "Wǒ fēi zǐ, gù bùzhī zǐ yǐ; zǐ gù fēi yú yě, zǐ zhī bùzhī yú zhī lè, quán yǐ!" 惠子曰「我非子，固不知子矣；子固非魚也，子之不知魚之樂，全矣！」 |
| 6. Zhuāngzǐ answered him: "The thing is, when you asked, 'Where can you know the joy of fish from?' you already knew that I knew this in order to ask me from what I knew it. I knew it from the bridge over the River Háo!" |
庄子曰：「请循其本。子 曰『汝安知鱼乐』云者，既已知吾知之而问我。我知之濠上也。」 Zhuāngzǐ yuē: "Qǐng xún qí běn. zǏ yuē "Rǔ ān zhī yú lè," yún zhě, jìyǐ zhī wú zhī zhī ér wèn wǒ. Wǒ zhī zhī Háo shàng yě." 莊子曰：「請循其本。子曰『汝安知魚樂』雲者，既已知吾知之而問我。我知之濠上也。」 |
A review quiz is available covering this item in combination with another short selection from Zhuāngzǐ, The Dào of Cow. (Quiz Link)
A visit to the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino, California, is always rewarding. When you inspect their Chinese garden, be sure to check out the little "Bridge of the Joy of Fish" (Yúlè Qiáo 鱼乐桥), commemorating this story from Zhuāngzǐ.