Illustration by C.C. Tsai
Zhuangzi (or Chuang-Tzu) is unique from every other philosopher you’ve ever come across. Like Aesop, he made many of his points using animals. Like Plato, he created dialogues featuring famous philosophers. And like his fellow Taoists, he advocated for a more natural way of living as a cure for the stresses of civilized life.
But just what constitutes “a natural life” is different for each person, and Zhuangzi’s stories frequently called upon his readers to intuit the way or Tao for themselves.
Best of all, his writings are fun to read. Not only is his eponymous work, The Zhuangzi, a philosophical classic, but it’s also considered a literary masterpiece. Though each anecdote is but a few lines long, they frequently leave the reader with much to ponder.
This story is no different.
On the surface, you might think that it’s about how silly we are for sacrificing ourselves for status and finery. But the story ends on a question. The answer to which is different for each person.
Would you rather be a pig or a minister?
It’s fine to sleep in, eat slop, and live safely behind your pen, but some people have reasons for giving that up.
As an “important person”, all the things you do to distinguish yourself from your pigs (and common folk) also cause early death (stress, enemies, lack of sleep, etc.). But the minister might say that pigs can't live in pens without someone to think on their behalf, sacrificing themselves for the welfare of all.
On the other hand, if a minister was only doing it to acquire finery and wealth, then maybe he's dumber than the pigs as health and happiness are extremely high prices to pay. But maybe it's as much in the nature of officials to chase after status, self-sacrifice, and materialism the way pigs go for food and comfort. Maybe the minister is already following his inclinations since he wouldn’t hesitate to pick status over security. And the minister, who at the very least gets to decide the fate of pigs, does seem to have more agency in life.
Some envy the life of the pig, others envy that of the minister. What are you chasing and is it actually worth chasing?