Zhuangzi-Pian Mu (Chapter 8, Outer Chapters)

I. Textual Positioning and Background

1. Textual Attribution
   • First chapter of “Outer Chapters” in Zhuangzi (traditional classification)
   • Academic debate: Some scholars consider it retains the essence of Inner Chapters
   • Forms a critique of Confucianism series with “Horse Hooves” and “Breaking Open Trunks”
2. Historical Context
   • Intensified social transformations during mid-Warring States period（Today’s society is also in a time of great change, isn’t it?）
   • Confucian benevolence-righteousness becoming mainstream ideology
   • Zhuangzi School‘s philosophical reflection on civilization alienation
3. Core Imagery Analysis
   • “Pian Mu” (webbed toes): Natural congenital anomaly
   • “Zhi Zhi” (extra fingers): Artificial postnatal burden
   • “Hao Mu” (worried gaze): Mental anxiety caused by benevolence-righteousness

II. Textual Structure Analysis

(1) Philosophical Argument on Natural Essence (Sections 1-3)

1. Biological Metaphors
   • Duck legs cannot be lengthened
   • Crane legs cannot be shortened
   • Key arguments:
     • All things have their proper measure
     • “What is naturally long should not be cut; what is naturally short should not be extended”
2. Critical Logic Development
   • Benevolence-righteousness as “carpenter’s tools”
   • Ritual-music as “bonding adhesives”
   • Manifestations of alienation:
     • Foot-binding style moral enforcement
     • “Twisting ritual-music to reshape the world”

(2) Historical Case Critiques (Sections 4-6)

1. Two Types of Misguidance
   • Boyi series: Martyrs for fame (starved in Shouyang Mountain)
   • Robber Zhi series: Martyrs for profit (rampant banditry)
   • Common essence:
     • “Their sacrifices differ but equally violate nature”
     • Both represent deviation from essence
2. Diagnosis of Civilization Illness
   • “Worrying gaze over worldly troubles” (Confucians)
   • “Exhausting steps pursuing useless fame” (Logicians)
   • Pathological analysis:
     • Exchanging nature for benevolence
     • Disrupting truth with sophistry

(3) Path to Return to Authenticity (Sections 7-9)

1. Ultimate Standard
   • “Not losing the essence of life”
   • “Gaining reputation of benevolence without practicing it”
   • Comparative models:
     • Post-Three Dynasties: Exchanging substance for form
     • Ancient people: United with natural virtue
2. Practical Orientation
   • Self-reflection: “I feel ashamed before Dao-Virtue”
   • Position: “Not disturbing human hearts with benevolence-righteousness”
   • Ultimate state:
     • “Proper Dao-Virtue” (natural order)
     • “Supreme standard of the world”

III. Core Philosophical Propositions

1. Theory of Essential Nature
   • Everything has its proper portion (“The long is not excessive”)
   • Legitimacy of differences (“The short is not deficient”)
   • Critique of universalist “nature-altering morality”
2. Value Reassessment
   • Deconstructing fame-profit dichotomy
   • Revealing structural similarity between “benevolence” and “fame-profit”
   • Proposing new standard of “usefulness of uselessness”
3. Epistemological Breakthrough
   • Opposing “taking human as nature” (Confucianism)
   • Advocating “taking nature as nature” (Daoism)
   • “Double-forgetting” methodology:
     • Forget binary distinctions of benevolence/ritual
     • Return to “chaotic” authentic state

IV. Significance in Intellectual History

1. Theoretical Contributions
   • First systematic critique of benevolence alienation
   • Establishment of naturalistic theory of human nature
   • Influence:
     • Wei-Jin period “Transcending norms, following nature”（It also influenced Fan Quan‘s later Treatises on the Destruction of God.）
     • Chan Buddhism’s “No dependence on words”
2. Modern Enlightenment
   • Advanced critique of technological rationality
   • Ancient precursor to ecological philosophy
   • Deep model of civilization reflection:
     • Deconstructing “progressivism” myth
     • Proposing “moderate development” view
3. Controversial Points
   • Whether completely negates moral values
   • Limits of “anti-civilization” tendency
   • Coherence with Inner Chapters’ thought

V. Key Text Analysis

1. Classic Passage
   

   “Those ultimate standards never lose the essential condition of life. Therefore joined toes are not superfluous, extra fingers are not abnormal; the long is not excessive, the short is not deficient.”

   • Interpretation points:
     • Dialectical definition of “ultimate standard”
     • Ontological basis for coexisting differences
     • Deconstruction of normal/abnormal dichotomy
2. Rhetorical Features
   • Medical analogies (“festering ulcers”)
   • Craft metaphors (“carving and sawing”)
   • Body politics:
     • Materializing social issues as physical deformities
     • Philosophical transformation of therapeutic discourse

VI. Research Expansion Directions

1. Comparative Philosophy Perspective
   • Dialogue with Rousseau’s “state of nature” theory
   • Comparison with Heidegger’s “technological framework” critique
   • Key difference: Eastern view of unity between things and self
2. Contemporary Interpretation Approaches
   • Dimension of philosophy of body
   • Reconstruction of ecological ethics
   • Chinese resources for alienation theory
3. Practical Wisdom Transformation
   • Enlightenment for “de-standardization” in education
   • Reference for “nature-healing” in psychotherapy
   • Application of “non-action” in management science