An Annotated Translation of Fang Yizhi's Commentary on Zhuangzi's “Butterfly Dream” Story

Abstract

A glimpse is provided into the Zhuangzi (Master Zhuang) commentary of Fang Yizhi (1611–1671), Yaodi pao Zhuang (Monk Yaodi Distills the Essence of the Zhuangzi), by providing the first translation of all the remarks on the famous butterfly story from the end of the “Qiwulun” (Discourse on Equalizing Things) chapter. The bricolage (pinzhuang) structure of Fang’s text, with layer upon layer of intertextuality (huwenxing), is preserved throughout, thereby giving insights into the structure as well as the content of the text.

這篇文章首次翻譯方以智 (1611–1671) 對《齊物論》章尾裡出現的「莊周夢蝶」的所有評語，從而窺探他注莊子的著作，即《藥地炮莊》。方以智在文本裡的拼裝 (bricolage) 結構帶著一層層的互文性 (intertextuality)，已被完全保留。而這有助於洞悉其文本的結構與內容。

Keywords:

• Monk Yaodi Distills the Essence of the Zhuangzi (Yaodi pao Zhuang)
• Zhuangzi
• Fang Yizhi
• appraisal commentary
• bricolage
• intertextuality

關鍵詞:

• 藥地炮莊
• 莊子
• 方以智
• 評注
• 拼裝
• 互文性

Notes

1 Cf. Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, p. 97 n. 405; translations are all the author’s own unless noted otherwise, rendering them in accordance with how Fang Yizhi and his circle might be supposed to have taken them.

2 E.g., zhong 中 (“equilibrium” or “the Mean”), as Fang Yizhi and Wu Guanwo 吳觀我 (1565–1634) often put it (see Deng Keh-ming 2014), or le 樂 (“happiness”), qua xin you tianyou 心有天遊 (“a mind with natural ease”), as Lin Xiyi 林希逸 (1193–1271) puts it, or zide 自得 (“self-fulfillment” or “contentment”), as Guo Xiang often puts it, or ming 明 (“enlightenment” or “clarity”), as Zhi Dun 支遁 (314–366) puts it, all when they are describing Zhuangzi’s notion of xiaoyaoyou 逍遥游 (“wandering at ease”) (see Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, p. 249, Yan Lingfeng 1972, p. 3 and Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 101). Juelang Daosheng 覺浪道盛 (1592–1659) and Wang Xuan 王宣 (1565–1654) describe “wandering at ease” in terms of you yu weishi you 遊於未始有 (“wandering where there is not yet being”) and comparable notions from (and akin to those from) ch. 2, and Shen Changqing 沈長卿 (Ming) in terms of you fang zhi wai 遊方之外 (“wandering outside the bounds”) from ch. 6. Liu Chenweng 劉辰翁 (1232–1297) explicitly deems it the central thesis of the entire book before associating it with the mythical Laozi’s you yu wu zhi chu 遊於物之初 (“wandering amidst the beginning of things”), and Yang Shen 楊慎 (1488–1559) describes it in terms of jin xing 盡性 (“fulfilling one’s nature”) (see Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, pp. 249ff., Yan Lingfeng 1972, pp. 3ff., and Zhang – Xing 2015, pp. 101ff.). More recently, the influential Wang Xianqian 王先謙 (1842–1918) describes it as ren tian er you wuqiong 任天而遊無窮 (“complying with nature so as to wander in the boundless”) (Wang Xianqian 2014, p. 1), the influential Feng Youlan 馮友蘭 (1895–1990) describes it in terms of “tranquility” and “absolute freedom” (Feng Youlan 1989, pp. xvi-xvii), and the influential Burton Watson (1925–2017) sums up the text with a single word: “freedom” (Watson 2013, p. ix). While these and many other readings all diverge in several key aspects, and at times are mutually hostile (e.g., quite notably, Lin Xiyi on Guo Xiang), they often converge in taking the Zhuangzi as having a positive message and/or influence in terms of wellbeing. The same holds for many contemporary readings, including many of those which take Zhuangzi as a skeptic, relativist, and/or perspectivist. NB: Whenever “ch.” appears without any further identifying information in the present study, it is referring to the chapter in the received recension of the Zhuangzi.

3 泰然遣放 放而不敖 (cf. Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, p. 49 n. 72 and Guo Qingfan 2012) (“Calmly Zhuangzi would let loose. When set free, he did not squabble.”).

4 炮莊是遣放之書 (cf. Deng Keh-ming 2014, p. 76: “As for my Roasts Zhuangzi, this is a book about letting loose.”). Peterson and Ziporyn standardly translate pao 炮 as “roast” in this connection, but the term has many misleading connotations. It means “roast” in the sense of cooking medicinal ingredients to distill their essence. Harbsmeier has suggested “boils down” as an alternative, whereas I have selected “distills the essence.” In using this expression, I am focusing on what Fang Yizhi is doing in “roasting” or “boiling down” the Zhuangzi, i.e., I am spelling out the metaphor in my translation.

5 A fairly uncommon expression in general, but comparatively common in Yaodi pao Zhuang.

6 Again, translations are all the author’s own unless noted otherwise. The story is sedimented in Modern Chinese through a memorable idiom: Zhuang Zhou meng die 莊周夢蝶.

7 Both stories are sedimented in Modern Chinese through memorable idioms: jingwa zhi jian 井蛙之見 and xue bu Handan 學步邯鄲 respectively.

8 See Chiu Min-chieh 2012, pp. 254–272.

9 For a study on Yaodi pao Zhuang in relation to late Ming literary criticism more broadly, see Lee Chung-ta 2018, pp. 725–762.

10 E.g., in ch. 2 Monk Yaodi has 大知閒閒 rather than 小知閒閒, thereby predicating on 大知 what more recent editions predicate on 小知. And in ch. 18 he has 種有機 rather than 種有幾. The latter instance arguably fits better with the last line of ch. 18, viz., 萬物皆出於機，皆入於機; I am pleased Ziporyn 2020 notes this latter late Ming variant, which is also noted by Fang’s friend and contemporary Wang Fuzhi 王夫之 (1619–1692) in his Zhuangzi jie 莊子解 and is essential to his interpretation of the passage in Zhuangzi tong 莊子通. Zhang – Xing 2015 are missing some of the variants found in Yan Lingfeng 1972 and Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, including the aforementioned ch. 18 variant.

11 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 147.

12 Cf. Ziporyn 2009, p. 21.

13 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 147.

14 Guo Xiang is often simply referred to as “Guo” in Yaodi pao Zhuang.

15 Cf. Lynn 2019, p. 10 and Ziporyn 2009, p. 162 for a partial translation. Fang Yizhi does not include Guo Xiang’s entire gloss, see Guo’s zhu 注, cf. Guo Qingfan 2012.

16 大方廣佛華嚴經.

17 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 148.

18 The final phrase of the butterfly passage.

19 See Kantor 2018b and Ziporyn 2013, 2016.

20 See esp. Ziporyn 2015, pp. 253–278.

21 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 148.

22 I.e., Fang Yizhi’s Dharma teacher Juelang Daosheng, see Dramatis Personae.

23 E.g., the musical panpipes (lai 籟) which open ch. 2.

24 E.g., that in dialogue with the penumbra (wangliang 罔兩) from ch. 2 (and ch. 27).

25 E.g., Zhuang Zhou and the butterfly which close ch. 2.

26 E.g., Ziqi of South Wall (Nanguo Ziqi 南郭子綦), at the opening ch. 2.

27 The passage immediately before the butterfly dream in ch. 2.

28 Cf. Ziporyn 2009, p. 163; this and the earlier Guo Xiang annotation were the only two annotations for which I found English translations to consult. Alas, the field is still young!

29 See Kantor 2018a and Ziporyn 2013.

30 Chang Chung-yuan 2013, p. 246.

31 Chang Chung-yuan 2013, p. 246.

32 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 148.

33 I.e., Bai Yu 白瑜 (1554–1623), see 4. Appendix: Dramatis Personae.

34 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 148.

35 I.e., Zeng Gong 曾鞏 (1019–1083), see Dramatis Personae.

36 I.e., Li Weizhen 李維楨 (1547–1626), see Dramatis Personae.

37 I.e., Liu Zhiji 劉知幾 (661–721), see Dramatis Personae.

38 I.e., Wang Chong 王充 (27–97), see Dramatis Personae.

39 See Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, p. 343 n. 540.

40 See ch. 2.

41 I.e., Fang Yizhi’s maternal grandfather Wu Guanwo, see Dramatis Personae.

42 Neither critical edition takes Wu Guanwo as referring to the title of the second chapter in contracted form, but rather to discussions on things generally.

43 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 148.

44 I.e., Tang Xianzu 湯顯祖 (1550–1616), see Dramatis Personae.

45 Qian cao 潛草, or Lu hu qian cao 鹿湖潛草, a work by Fang Yizhi’s father Fang Kongzhao 方孔炤 (1590–1655), already a lost manuscript, see Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, p. 609 n. 328. The work is often quoted throughout Fang Yizhi’s works.

46 I.e., Chen Jiru 陳繼儒 (1558–1639), see Dramatis Personae.

47 I.e., Jiao Hong 焦竑 (1540–1620), see Dramatis Personae.

48 “Form is precisely emptiness” is a formulation from the Heart Sūtra (Xinjing 心經) and Vimalakīrti Sūtra (Weimojie suo shuo jing 維摩詰所說經).

49 These are technical expressions that Fang uses; I more or less follow Ziporyn’s 2009, p. 221 renderings of them in the brackets. For more on these key notions, see esp. Liu Juncan 2001, pp. 29–34.

50 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 148.

51 I.e., Fang Kongzhao, see Dramatis Personae.

52 I.e., they were simple and crude rooms.

53 These are two of the main categories used in the Fang clan’s interpretation of the Book of Changes. How exactly to interpret these notions is a vexed matter; for a plausible interpretation, see Deng Keh-ming 2016, ch. 2 and 2019, ch. 2–4. Deng’s most straightforward definitions are proffered in 2016, p. 29: 反因指天地間一切相反對待之現象，公因指相反對待中，彼此柤互成立而為無對待之狀態 … 公因與反因是方以智思想中非常重要的觀念，一切對立矛盾的現象，本身即蘊含相反相成的因素。是以，公因就在反因之中。

54 Yijing 易經 (Book of Changes), see the Qian 乾 Hexagram.

55 Regarding liang xing 兩行, see ch. 2; Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, p. 313.

56 Thanks are due to an anonymous peer reviewer for many interventions in this passage.

57 See Deng Keh-ming 2014 and Williams 2019.

58 I.e., Nanhua zhenjing 南華真經 (Zhuangzi 莊子).

59 I.e., Dafo dingshou lengyan jing 大佛頂首楞嚴經.

60 Common Buddhist notions: gen chen 根塵 “The object or sensation of any organ of sense” and jue dai 絶待 “Final, supreme, special” (Soothill – Hodous 1977, p. 327).

61 Reading ru 入 for ren 人. Common Buddhist notions: chu shi 出世 “(1) Appearance in the world, e.g. the Buddha’s appearing. (2) To leave the world; a monk or nun. (3) Beyond, or outside this world, not of this world; of nirvana character” (Soothill – Hodous 1977, p. 166).

62 Zhang – Xing 2015, pp. 148–149.

63 I.e., Xu Shupi 徐樹丕 (1596–1683 AD), see Dramatis Personae.

64 I.e. the Zhuangzi.

65 Regarding the “Great Union,” datong 大同, see ch. 11: “大同乎涬溟” and “合乎大同，大同而無己,” Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, pp. 603, 605.

66 I.e., Fang Yizhi’s second son Fang Zhongtong 方中通 (1634–1698), see Dramatis Personae.

67 I.e., Zeng Shen 曾參 (505–435 BCE), see Dramatis Personae.

68 I.e., “Fu niao fu” 鵩鳥賦 by Jia Yi 賈誼 (ca. 200–169 BCE), see Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, p. 345 n. 547; the poem alludes to an episode from ch. 17 of the Zhuangzi.

69 I.e., 天不可預慮兮道不可預謀，遲速有命兮焉識其時, see Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, p. 345 n. 547.

70 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 149.

71 In the Shiji 史記, Zi Gong accuses Confucius of being anxious like a homeless dog: 累累若喪家之狗, and Confucius jovially agrees: 孔子欣然笑曰：形狀，末也。而謂似喪家之狗，然哉！然哉！

72 See Addiss et al. 2008, pp. 85–88.

73 The poem verses are translated from Watson 2002, pp. 278–281 with modifications: “There is no reckoning Heaven, / Nor divining beforehand the Way. / The span of life is fated; / Man cannot guess its ending.”

74 A female unicorn.

75 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 149.

76 I.e., Guo Duxian 郭都賢 (1599–1672), see Dramatis Personae.

77 Yuet Keung Lo 2002, pp. 75–93.

78 E.g., Qu Dajun 屈大均 (1630–1696) quoted in Qian Mu 2019: 屈大均曰，莊生之學，貴乎自得。鯤鵬之化，皆以喻心。無何有之鄉、廣莫之野，心之寓焉者也。彷徨逍遙，適其適之至也。化其心為鯤鵬，化其身為大樗，夫既已無己矣，而又何功與名乎哉. Qu Dajun says: “Zhuangzi’s teaching is all about freedom and self-sufficient enjoyment. The transformations of Peng-bird and Kun-fish are a metaphor for the mind. The homeland of not-even-anything and the vast wilds of open nowhere are where the mind is to be lodged. Loafing and wandering, far-reaching and unfettered – these describe the utmost enjoyment of one’s own enjoyment. Transforming the mind into Peng-bird and Kun-fish, transforming the body into the great Tree of Heaven – since he is already free of any fixed identity, what particular merit or name could there be?” (translation from Ziporyn 2009, p. 135 with modifications).

79 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 149.

80 Tan Yuanchun 譚元春 (1586–1637), see Dramatis Personae.

81 爲是不用而寓諸庸 is a direct quote from ch. 2, see Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, p. 313.

82 I.e., Fang Yizhi, see Dramatis Personae.

83 One ke equals 14.4 minutes. 14.4 x 8 ke = 115.2 minutes.

84 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 149.

85 “Vines and branches” (teng tiao 藤條) is a metaphor for deluded thoughts and theories, as in: “He wanted people to cut completely through the branches and vines and to see straight through to the original heart [beneath]” (Li Zhi, see Handler-Spitz et al. 2016, p. 235). Fang Yizhi claims these theories are provisionally apposite for navigating the world (“ascending a ridge”) and should not be wholly extirpated.

86 Thanks are due to an anonymous peer reviewer for many interventions in this passage.

87 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 149.

88 Ch. 2: 予嘗為女妄言之，女以妄聽之，奚？, see Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, pp. 331–332.

89 I.e., Rao Decao 饒德操 (fl. Song), see Dramatis Personae.

90 Zhang – Xing 2015, p. 149.

91 I.e., Zha Jizuo 查繼佐 (1601–1676), see Dramatis Personae.

92 I.e., Wei Xuelian 魏學濂 (1608–1644), see Dramatis Personae.

93 I.e., Zheng Yuanxun 鄭元勳 (1603–1644), see Dramatis Personae.

94 The cosmic breath of the Great Clod that produces the sound of the musical pipings (ch. 2) and which bears the Peng-bird’s large wings (ch. 1).

95 English renderings of selections from Fang Yizhi’s Zhuangzi commentary can be found in Ziporyn 2009.

96 English renderings of selections from Guo Xiang’s Zhuangzi commentary can be found in Feng Youlan 1989 and Ziporyn 2009.

97 English renderings of selections from Jiao Hong’s Zhuangzi commentary can be found in Ziporyn 2009 under “Jiao Hong.”

98 English renderings of selections from Juelang Daosheng’s Zhuangzi commentary can be found in Ziporyn 2009 under “Shi Daosheng.”

99 English renderings of selections from Tan Yuanchun’s Zhuangzi commentary can be found in Ziporyn 2009 under “Tan Yuanchun.”

100 English renderings of selections from Hanshan Deqing’s Zhuangzi commentary can be found in Ziporyn 2009 under “Shi Deqing.”

101 Perhaps this is alluding to the Shimen wenzi chan 石門文字禪 (The Literary Chan of Shimen Monastery) of Juefan Huihong 覺範慧洪 (1071–1128) (with “Shimen” serving as an appellation for Huihong).

102 Perhaps this is referring to Fang Yizhi’s disciple Xing Yue 興月 (Rising Moon), see Tsai Chen-feng et al. 2017, p. 29 n. 287, p. 454 n. 71, and Liu Juncan 2001, p. 114.

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Notes on contributors

John R. Williams

John R. Williams is a Lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. His research interests focus on the reception history of the Zhuangzi. At present, he is mainly interested in the “Lao-Zhuang”-related works of Fang Yizhi, Wang Fuzhi, Lin Yunming, and Xuan Ying. Among his recent publications are “Two Paradigmatic Strategies for Reading Zhuang Zi’s ‘Happy Fish’ Vignette as Philosophy: Guo Xiang’s and Wang Fuzhi’s Approaches,” Comparative Philosophy 9 (2018) 2, pp. 93–104, “The Radiance of Drift and Doubt: Zhuangzi and the Starting Point of Philosophical Discourse,” Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 16 (2017) 1, pp. 1–14, and “A Couple Nagging Interpretive Difficulties in Zhuangzi Studies vis-à-vis William James on the Ethics and Psychology of Belief,” Frontiers of Philosophy in China 14 (2019) 4, pp. 593–611. With Christoph Harbsmeier he is currently translating the Zhuangzi with traditional commentary for a bilingual Oxford University Press edition.