Chapter 24, Part 5B - Chuang Tzu

Hui Tzu said, "The followers of Confucius, Mo, Yang, and Ping often engage with me in debate, each of us trying to overwhelm the others with phrases and to silence them with shouts - but so far they have never proved me wrong. So what do you make of that?"

Chuang Tzu said, "A man of Ch'i sold his own son into service in Sung, having dubbed him Gatekeeper and maimed him; but when he acquired any bells or chimes, he wrapped them up carefully to prevent breakage.

"Another man went looking for a lost son, but was unwilling to go any farther than the border in his search - there are men as mixed up as this, you know.

"Or like the man of Ch'u who had been maimed and sold into service as a gatekeeper and who, in the middle of the night, when no one else was around, picked a fight with the boatman. Though he didn't actually arouse any criticism, what he did was enough to create the grounds for a nasty grudge."
~ Burton Watson translation via Terebess Asia Online

~ Go here to read the introductory post to the chapters of the Book of Chuang Tzu.