Bit by Bit - Chapter 4, Part 24

Trey Smith

There's Crippled Shu - chin stuck down in his navel, shoulders up above his head, pigtail pointing at the sky, his five organs on the top, his two thighs pressing his ribs. By sewing and washing, he gets enough to fill his mouth; by handling a winnow and sifting out the good grain, he makes enough to feed ten people. When the authorities call out the troops, he stands in the crowd waving good-by; when they get up a big work party, they pass him over because he's a chronic invalid. And when they are doling out grain to the ailing, he gets three big measures and ten bundles of firewood. With a crippled body, he's still able to look after himself and finish out the years Heaven gave him. How much better, then, if he had crippled virtue!
~ Burton Watson translation ~

We live in a society that places way too much emphasis on physical appearance. There are so many capable individuals who are not afforded opportunities to shine because they are deemed fat, ugly, tattooed or old.

It often is just as bad for those deemed to be the "beautiful" people. They are feted about because of their physical appearances and a lot of people don't take them seriously. Many act as if a woman with big boobs or a guy with a nice tush couldn't possibly think a deep thought!

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