Zhuangzi, Chapter 8: Book 8, Chapter 8: Joined Toes

Translation

Joined Toes

CHAPTER VIII.

JOINED TOES.

Argument:--Virtues should be natural, not artificial; passive not active. [Chs. viii to xiii inclusive are illustrative of, or supplementary to, ch. vii.]

Joined toes and extra fingers are an addition to nature, though, functionally speaking, superfluous. Wens and tumours are an addition to the bodily form, though, as far as nature is concerned, superfluous. And similarly, to include charity and duty to one's neighbour among the functions of man's organism, is not true TAO¹.

For just as joined toes are but useless lumps of flesh, and extra fingers but useless excrescences, so are any artificial additions to our internal economy but harmful adjuncts to real charity and duty to one's neighbour², and are moreover prejudicial to the right use of intelligence.

People with extra keenness of vision muddle themselves over the five colours, exaggerate the value of shades, and of distinctions of greens and yellows for sacrificial robes. Of such was Li Chu³.

People with extra keenness of hearing muddle themselves over the five notes, exaggerate the tonic differences of the six pitch-pipes, and the various timbres of metal, stone, silk, and bamboo, of the Huang-chung, and of the Ta-lü. Of such was Shih K'uang⁴.

People who graft on charity, force themselves to display this virtue in order to gain reputation and to enjoy the applause of the world for that which is of no account. Of such were Tsêng and Shih⁵.

People who refine in argument do but pile up tiles or knot ropes in their maunderings over the hard and white, the like and the unlike, wearing themselves out over mere useless terms. Of such were Yang and Mih⁶.

Therefore every addition to or deviation from nature belongs not to the ultimate perfection of all⁷.

He who would attain to such perfection never loses sight of the natural conditions of his existence. With him the joined is not united, nor the separated apart, nor the long in excess, nor the short wanting. For just as a duck's legs, though short, cannot be lengthened without pain to the duck, and a crane's legs, though long, cannot be shortened without misery to the crane, so that which is long in man's moral nature cannot be cut off, nor that which is short be lengthened. All sorrow is thus avoided.

Intentional charity and intentional duty to one's neighbour are surely not included in our moral nature. Yet what sorrow these have involved. Divide your joined toes and you will howl: bite off your extra finger and you will scream. In one case there is too much, in the other too little; but the sorrow is the same. And the charitable of the age go about sorrowing over the ills of the age, while the non-charitable cut through the natural conditions of things in their greed after place and wealth. Surely then intentional charity and duty to one's neighbour are not included in our moral nature. Yet from the time of the Three Dynasties downwards what a fuss has been made about them!

Those who cannot make perfect without arc, line, compasses, and square, injure the natural constitution of things. Those who require cords to bind and glue to stick, interfere with the natural functions of things. And those who seek to satisfy the mind of man by hampering with ceremonies and music and preaching charity and duty to one's neighbour, thereby destroy the intrinsicality of things.

For such intrinsicality does exist, in this sense:--Things which are curved require no arcs; things which are straight require no lines; things which are round require no compasses; things which are rectangular require no squares; things which stick require no glue; things which hold together require no cords. And just as all things are produced, and none can tell how they are produced, so do all things possess their own intrinsic qualities and none can tell how they possess them. From time immemorial this has always been so, without variation. Why then should charity and duty to one's neighbour be as it were glued or corded on, and introduced into the domain of TAO, to give rise to doubt among mankind?

Lesser doubts change the rule of life; greater doubts change man's nature.

How do we know this? By the fact that ever since the time when Shun bid for charity and duty to one's neighbour in order to secure the empire, men have devoted their lives to the pursuit thereof. Is it not then charity and duty to one's neighbour which change the nature of man?

Therefore I have tried to show that from the time of the Three Dynasties it has always been the external which has changed the nature of man. If a mean man, he will die for gain. If a superior man, he will die for fame. If a man of rank, he will die for his ancestral honours. If a Sage, he will die for the world. The pursuits and ambitions of these men differ, but the injury to their natures involved in the sacrifice of their lives is the same.

Tsang and Ku were shepherds, both of whom lost their flocks. On inquiry, it appeared that Tsang had been engaged in reading, while Ku had gone to take part in some trials of strength. Their occupations had been different, but the result was in each case loss of the sheep.

Poh I died for fame at the foot of Mount Shou-yang⁸.

Robber Chê died for gain on Mount T'ai⁹.

Their deaths were not the same, but the injury to their lives and natures was in each case the same. How then can we applaud the former and blame the latter?

And so, if a man dies for charity and duty to his neighbour the world calls him a noble fellow; but if he dies for gain, the world calls him a low fellow. The dying being the same, one is nevertheless called noble and the other low. But in point of injury to life and nature, the robber Chê and Poh I are one. Where then does the distinction of noble and low come in?

Were a man to apply himself to charity and duty towards his neighbour until he were the equal of Tsêng or Shih, this would not be what I mean by perfection. Or to flavours, until he were the equal of Yü Erh¹⁰.

Or to sounds, until he were the equal of Shih K'uang. Or to colours, until he were the equal of Li Chu. What I mean by perfection is not what is meant by charity and duty to one's neighbour. It is found in the cultivation of TAO. And those whom I regard as cultivators of TAO are not those who cultivate charity and duty to one's neighbour. They are those who yield to the natural conditions of things. What I call perfection of hearing is not hearing others but oneself. What I call perfection of vision is not seeing others but oneself¹¹.

For a man who sees not himself but others, takes not possession of himself but of others, thus taking what others should take and not what he himself should take¹².

Instead of being himself, he in fact becomes some one else. And if a man thus becomes some one else instead of himself, this is a fatal error of which both the robber Chê and Poh I can be equally guilty.

And so, conscious of my own deficiency in regard to TAO, I do not venture at my best to practise the principles of charity and duty to my neighbour, nor at my worst to fall into the fatal error above-mentioned.

Practical Reading

Book 8: Joined Toes -- 骈拇 (pián mǔ)

Zhuangzi opens with a deliberately shocking comparison: joined toes and extra fingers are natural variations, yet we consider them deformities. Similarly, conventional morality--charity, duty to neighbor, righteousness--is grafted onto human nature, yet we celebrate it as virtue. Through this provocadion, Zhuangzi launches his most direct attack on Confucian moralism, arguing that imposed virtue is as unnatural and harmful as trying to lengthen a duck's legs or shorten a crane's.

Key Modern Applications:

1. The Duck and the Crane -- "Just as a duck's legs, though short, cannot be lengthened without pain to the duck, and a crane's legs, though long, cannot be shortened without misery to the crane, so that which is long in man's moral nature cannot be cut off, nor that which is short be lengthened." This principle has immediate relevance for any attempt to impose standardized development on diverse people. The introvert forced into networking training; the creative thinker required to follow systematic processes; the spontaneous child subjected to rigid educational expectations--all are experiencing the misery of the crane having its legs shortened. Nature has variation; forced uniformity creates suffering.

2. The Lost Sheep -- Tsang and Ku both lost their flocks. "Tsang had been engaged in reading, while Ku had gone to take part in some trials of strength. Their occupations had been different, but the result was in each case loss of the sheep." Zhuangzi uses this parable to dismantle moral hierarchy. The scholar who loses the Way through intellectual pride and the athlete who loses it through physical vanity--both have missed the point. We create elaborate distinctions between "good" and "bad" pursuits, but from the perspective of TAO, any attachment that blocks natural functioning is the same error.

3. Poh I and Robber Chê -- Poh I died for fame at Mount Shou-yang; Robber Chê died for gain on Mount T'ai. "Their deaths were not the same, but the injury to their lives and natures was in each case the same." This stunning equivalence levels moral judgment. The martyr who sacrifices themselves for righteousness and the criminal who dies for greed--both have allowed external values to override their natural existence. Zhuangzi isn't saying robbery equals virtue; he's saying that dying for any external principle--even "good" ones--is a loss of the self that TAO gave you.

4. The Five Types of Excessive Refinement -- Li Chu with his supernatural vision; Shih K'uang with his perfect hearing; Tsêng and Shih with their conspicuous charity; Yang and Mih with their sophistic arguments--all represent excess that obscures rather than reveals. "People with extra keenness of vision muddle themselves over the five colours." In our age of optimization, this critique cuts deep. The quantified-self practitioner who tracks every metric but loses touch with felt experience; the organization that measures every KPI but misses emerging patterns; the expert who knows everything about their field but can't see beyond it--all have "extra keenness" that has become blindness.

5. Perfection is Seeing Oneself -- "What I call perfection of vision is not seeing others but oneself." The entire thrust of conventional education and training is outward: learn to see markets, competitors, social dynamics, technical systems. Zhuangzi inverts this: true perfection is inward vision. The leader who doesn't understand their own motivations makes decisions from unconscious drivers; the professional who hasn't examined their own values lives someone else's life; the seeker who looks everywhere but within accumulates knowledge without wisdom.

Action Step: Identify one area where you've been trying to "lengthen a duck's legs"--forcing yourself or someone else toward a standard that doesn't match natural capacity. What would happen if you accepted the short legs and built from there instead? This week, experiment with building on natural strengths rather than compensating for perceived deficits.