"A wandering carpenter, called Stone, saw on his travels a gigantic old oak tree standing in a field near an earth-altar. The carpenter said to his a… - Zhuangzi

"A wandering carpenter, called Stone, saw on his travels a gigantic old oak tree standing in a field near an earth-altar. The carpenter said to his apprentice, who was admiring the oak: "This is a useless tree. If you wanted to make a ship, it would soon rot; if you wanted to make tools, they would break. You can't do anything useful with this tree, and that's why it has become so old.

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About Zhuangzi

莊子 Zhūangzi (c. 369 BC – c. 286 BC), literally Master Zhuang, was a Chinese philosopher, who is supposed to have lived during the Warring States Period, corresponding to the Hundred Schools of Thought. His name is also transliterated as Zhuang Zi, Zhuang Zhou, Chuang Tzu, Chuang Tse. Chuang was his surname and Tse indicates master; so he would be referred to as Master Chuang. You will also see his name given as "Chuang Chou" or "Zhuang Zhu", this was his proper name, first and last, not an alternate spelling of "Chuang Tzu" or "Zhuangzi".

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Native Name: 庄子 • 莊子
Alternative Names: Zhuang Zi • Chuang Tzŭ • Chuang Tzu • Chuangtzŭ • Chuangtzu • Zhuang Zhou • Chuang Chou • Master Zhuang • Tchouang-tse • Chuang-tzu • Chuang-tse
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If you were to hide the world in the world, so that nothing could get away, this would be the final reality of the constancy of things.
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taoism
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