batch.motif.daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg-l10611-l10773
---
record_id: batch.motif.daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg-l10611-l10773
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER XXII. / KNOWLEDGE TRAVELS NORTH. / CHAPTER XXIII. / CHAPTER XXIV.;
lines 10611-10773
start: '10611'
end: '10773'
translation: 'Chuang Tzu: Mystic, Moralist, and Social Reformer'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: Beware! Do not flaunt your superiority in the faces of others.
summary: 'The passage presents several short anecdotes and sayings: Chuang Tzu criticizes
Hui Tzu through images of misplaced care and dangerous quarrels; at Hui Tzu''s
grave he compares his lost interlocutor to the vanished material of a master stone-mason;
the dying Kuan Chung advises Duke Huan to appoint Hsi P''eng rather than the rigidly
pure Pao Yu; the prince of Wu kills a skillful monkey and warns Yen Pu I not to
flaunt superiority; and Tzu Chi describes withdrawal from recognition and reputation,
grieving over human self-destruction and becoming more remote.'
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A man of Ch'i sends his son to Sung to be a doorkeeper with a maimed body,
while carefully preserving a valued vase.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Chuang Tzu uses sayings about seeking a stray child without leaving home and
a maimed man fighting a boatman to criticize Hui Tzu's restricted search for Tao.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: At Hui Tzu's grave, Chuang Tzu tells his attendants a story about a stone-mason
who could remove a tiny scab from a man's nose without injury.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The stone-mason refuses to repeat the feat for Prince Yuan because his former
material has perished; Chuang Tzu says he likewise has no one with whom he can
speak since Hui Tzu died.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: As Kuan Chung is dying, Duke Huan asks whom he should entrust with state administration.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Kuan Chung rejects Pao Yu as an administrator because Pao Yu is pure and good
but inflexible toward those unlike himself and unforgiving of wrongdoing.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Kuan Chung recommends Hsi P'eng, describing him as one who makes superiors'
authority and inferiors' dependence less conspicuous and who overlooks some state
and family matters.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The prince of Wu travels by boat to Monkey Mountain, where most monkeys flee,
but one monkey displays skill and catches the prince's arrow before being killed
by the guards.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The prince tells Yen Pu I that the monkey died because it flaunted skill and
dexterity, and warns him not to flaunt superiority.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Yen Pu I studies under Tung Wu, puts aside pleasures, avoids reputation, and
after three years is praised by everyone.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Tzu Chi is described as sitting and sighing, with his body like dry wood and
his mind like dead ashes.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: Tzu Chi says he once lived in a cave on the hills and that T'ien Ho's single
sight of him led the people of Ch'i to congratulate T'ien Ho three times.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: Tzu Chi says recognition required his own manifestation, compares this to
selling and buying, and says he grows daily farther away through layers of grief
over human self-destruction and grief itself.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Chuang Tzu
description: Speaker who criticizes Hui Tzu, tells the stone-mason story at Hui
Tzu's grave, and says he has no one with whom he can speak after Hui Tzu's death.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Hui Tzu
description: Target of Chuang Tzu's criticism and later deceased adversary or interlocutor
at whose grave Chuang Tzu speaks.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Man of Ch'i
description: A man who sends his son to Sung as a maimed doorkeeper while preserving
a valued vase.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Son sent to Sung
description: Son sent away to be a doorkeeper with a maimed body.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Man of Ying
description: A man with a thin hard scab on his nose who remains motionless while
a stone-mason removes it.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Stone-mason
description: Dexterous craftsman who removes the scab and later says his proper
material has perished.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Yuan, prince of Sung
description: Ruler who asks the stone-mason to perform the same feat for him.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Kuan Chung
description: Dying adviser visited by Duke Huan and asked to recommend an administrator.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Duke Huan
description: Ruler who seeks Kuan Chung's advice about entrusting state administration.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Pao Yu
description: Candidate described as pure, incorruptible, and good, but unsuitable
because of rigid judgment toward others.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Hsi P'eng
description: Candidate recommended by Kuan Chung as the necessary administrator.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Prince of Wu
description: Ruler who goes to Monkey Mountain, shoots at a monkey, orders guards
to shoot, and warns Yen Pu I.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Skillful monkey
description: Monkey that displays itself before the prince, catches an arrow, and
is killed by the guards.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Yen Pu I
description: Friend of the prince of Wu who receives the warning, studies under
Tung Wu, avoids reputation, and later is praised.
role_refs:
- role:15
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Tung Wu
description: Teacher of Tao under whom Yen Pu I studies.
role_refs:
- role:16
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:16
name_or_label: Tzu Chi of Nan-poh
description: Person described as sitting like dry wood and dead ashes, who says
he once lived in a cave on the hills and grieves over human self-destruction.
role_refs:
- role:17
- role:18
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:17
name_or_label: Yen Ch'eng Tzu
description: Person who enters and asks Tzu Chi how he can be like dry wood in body
and dead ashes in mind.
role_refs:
- role:19
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:18
name_or_label: T'ien Ho
description: Founder of the later House of Ch'i who sees Tzu Chi once and is congratulated
by the people of Ch'i.
role_refs:
- role:20
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: speaker of critical parables
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Chuang Tzu replies with examples about the Ch'i man, the stray child, and
the boatman to criticize Hui Tzu.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: mourning interlocutor deprived of counterpart
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: At Hui Tzu's grave he says that since Hui Tzu perished he has had no one
with whom he can speak.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: criticized and deceased interlocutor
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Hui Tzu is the target of the earlier criticism and the deceased person whose
grave Chuang Tzu passes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: misplaced caretaker
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He sacrifices the greater good of his son while preserving a vase, according
to the passage's explanatory note.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: maimed doorkeeper
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The son is sent away to Sung to be a doorkeeper with maimed body.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:6
label: motionless patient
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The man of Ying remains still while the scab is removed from his nose.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:7
label: master craftsman dependent on proper material
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The stone-mason performs a delicate feat but says he cannot repeat it because
his material has perished.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:8
label: ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:9
- fig:12
basis: Each is identified as a prince or duke exercising authority in the anecdotes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:9
label: dying political adviser
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Kuan Chung is at the point of death and advises Duke Huan on state administration.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:10
label: seeker of succession advice
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Duke Huan asks whom to entrust with the administration of the State.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:11
label: rejected virtuous candidate
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Pao Yu is described as pure and good but rejected as likely to clash with
ruler and people.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:12
label: recommended administrator
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: Kuan Chung says there is no alternative but Hsi P'eng.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:13
label: admonisher against displayed superiority
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The prince interprets the monkey's death as caused by flaunting skill and
warns Yen Pu I.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:14
label: skillful victim
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: The monkey catches an arrow but is killed by the guards' attack.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:15
label: warned learner
assigned_to:
- fig:14
basis: Yen Pu I receives the prince's warning and then studies under Tung Wu to
get rid of superiority.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:16
label: teacher of Tao
assigned_to:
- fig:15
basis: Tung Wu is identified in the passage note as a professor of Tao under whom
Yen Pu I studies.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:17
label: withdrawn sage-like recluse
assigned_to:
- fig:16
basis: Tzu Chi is associated with cave dwelling, bodily stillness, and detachment
from recognition.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:18
label: speaker on reputation and self-destruction
assigned_to:
- fig:16
basis: Tzu Chi reflects that recognition required his own manifestation and says
he grieves over man's self-destruction.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:19
label: questioning disciple or visitor
assigned_to:
- fig:17
basis: Yen Ch'eng Tzu enters and asks Tzu Chi about his dry-wood body and dead-ashes
mind.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:20
label: recognizer of hidden sage
assigned_to:
- fig:18
basis: T'ien Ho sees Tzu Chi once, after which the people of Ch'i congratulate him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: valued vase
literal_form: Carefully wrapped vase kept while the son is sent away maimed.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: stray child
literal_form: Image of a person seeking a stray child without leaving home.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: grave of Hui Tzu
literal_form: Grave passed by Chuang Tzu while attending a funeral.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: scab no thicker than a fly's wing
literal_form: Thin hard scab on the nose of the man of Ying.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: stone-mason's adze
literal_form: Tool wielded with dexterity to chip off the scab without injuring
the nose.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:6
label: Monkey Mountain
literal_form: Mountain visited by the prince of Wu where the monkey episode occurs.
associated_figures:
- fig:12
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: arrow and cloud of arrows
literal_form: The prince's arrow caught by the monkey and the guards' arrows that
kill it.
associated_figures:
- fig:12
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:8
label: cave on the hills
literal_form: Former dwelling place of Tzu Chi on the hills.
associated_figures:
- fig:16
taxonomy_refs:
- cave
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:9
label: dry wood and dead ashes
literal_form: Images used to describe Tzu Chi's body and mind.
associated_figures:
- fig:16
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:10
label: selling and buying recognition
literal_form: Tzu Chi's metaphor that he must have manifested or sold for T'ien
Ho to recognize or buy.
associated_figures:
- fig:16
- fig:18
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Criticism of Hui Tzu through misplaced value images
summary: Chuang Tzu replies with examples of a man protecting a vase while sacrificing
his son, of seeking a stray child without leaving home, and of a maimed man fighting
a boatman, applying them to Hui Tzu's limited search for Tao.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Chuang Tzu at Hui Tzu's grave
summary: Passing Hui Tzu's grave, Chuang Tzu tells of the stone-mason whose skill
depended on a suitable patient, then says that since Hui Tzu perished he has no
one with whom to speak.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Kuan Chung's deathbed recommendation
summary: Duke Huan asks the dying Kuan Chung whom to entrust with the state; Kuan
Chung rejects Pao Yu and recommends Hsi P'eng.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Monkey killed for displayed skill
summary: The prince of Wu ascends Monkey Mountain; a monkey displays its dexterity
and catches an arrow, but is killed when the prince orders his guards to shoot.
figure_refs:
- fig:12
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Yen Pu I learns not to flaunt superiority
summary: The prince warns Yen Pu I that displayed superiority led to the monkey's
death; Yen studies under Tung Wu, abandons pleasures and reputation, and after
three years is widely praised.
figure_refs:
- fig:12
- fig:14
- fig:15
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Tzu Chi's withdrawal from recognition
summary: Yen Ch'eng Tzu questions Tzu Chi's dry-wood and dead-ashes condition; Tzu
Chi recalls cave dwelling, recognition by T'ien Ho, and his grief over self-destruction
and recursive grieving.
figure_refs:
- fig:16
- fig:17
- fig:18
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
- sym:9
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Misplaced valuation sacrifices the greater for the lesser
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Ch'i man preserves a prized vase while sending his son away maimed, and
the note applies this as sacrificing the greater to the less.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a moralized image within a philosophical argument, not a full
narrative type.
- id: motif:2
label: Loss of the only fitting interlocutor
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Chuang Tzu compares the dead Hui Tzu to the vanished material of the stone-mason
and says he has no one with whom he can speak.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is extracted from analogy and elegiac speech rather than a recurring
tale pattern in the passage.
- id: motif:3
label: Non-rigid wisdom in rulership and administration
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Kuan Chung rejects a rigidly pure candidate and recommends one who shares
virtue, does not display superior merit, and overlooks petty matters.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames this as practical-political counsel rather than mythic
action.
- id: motif:4
label: Displayed skill invites destruction
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The monkey survives the prince's first shot by catching the arrow, but is
killed by the guards; the prince explicitly warns against flaunting superiority.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The episode is a didactic animal anecdote; no broader animal-trickster
taxonomy reference is assigned from the available list.
- id: motif:5
label: Withdrawal from reputation toward Tao
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
- wisdom
basis: Yen Pu I avoids reputation after instruction, while Tzu Chi associates manifestation
with being recognized and describes becoming farther away.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage implies Taoist withdrawal and self-effacement, but the exact
spiritual process is stated through aphorism and metaphor.
- id: motif:6
label: Cave-dwelling recluse recognized as sage
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: Tzu Chi says he once lived in a cave on the hills and that T'ien Ho's seeing
him led to public congratulations, implying recognition of his status.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: Recognition as a sage is supplied partly by the passage note; the narrative
remains brief.
- id: motif:7
label: Stillness of body and mind as dry wood and dead ashes
taxonomy_refs:
- annihilation_union
- mystical_quest
basis: Tzu Chi is described as body like dry wood and mind like dead ashes, and
the surrounding speech concerns retreat from manifestation and human grief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: low
cautions: The available taxonomy term 'annihilation_union' is only cautiously applicable;
the passage does not explicitly narrate union, only stillness and distance.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 10611-10640
quote_or_summary: Chuang Tzu describes a Ch'i man sending his son to Sung as a maimed
doorkeeper while preserving a valued vase; he adds images of seeking a stray child
without leaving home and of a maimed man fighting a boatman, with notes applying
these to Hui Tzu's search for Tao.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 10642-10678
quote_or_summary: At Hui Tzu's grave, Chuang Tzu tells of a man of Ying whose nose
scab is removed by a stone-mason's adze without injury; when Prince Yuan asks
for the same feat, the mason says his material has perished, and Chuang Tzu says
he too has no one with whom he can speak since Hui Tzu perished.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 10680-10703
quote_or_summary: Kuan Chung, near death, is asked by Duke Huan whom to appoint
over state administration; he rejects Pao Yu, who is pure and good but likely
to clash with prince and people because he cannot forget wrongdoing.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 10704-10724
quote_or_summary: Kuan Chung says Hsi P'eng must be chosen and describes him as
sharing virtue, not displaying superior merit, and purposely not hearing or seeing
certain faults in state and family.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 10726-10740
quote_or_summary: The prince of Wu takes a boat to Monkey Mountain; most monkeys
hide, but one shows off, catches the prince's arrow, and is killed after the prince
orders his guards to shoot.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: 10741-10755
quote_or_summary: The prince says the monkey flaunted its skill and warns Yen Pu
I, "Do not flaunt your superiority in the faces of others"; Yen then studies under
Tung Wu, avoids pleasure and reputation, and after three years is praised by everyone.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 10757-10768
quote_or_summary: Tzu Chi sits leaning on a table, looking heavenward and sighing;
Yen Ch'eng Tzu asks how his body can be like dry wood and his mind like dead ashes;
Tzu Chi says he once lived in a cave on the hills and that T'ien Ho once saw him
and was congratulated by the people of Ch'i.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 10769-10773
quote_or_summary: Tzu Chi reasons that he must have manifested himself for T'ien
Ho to recognize him, compares recognition to selling and buying, and says he grieves
over human self-destruction and over further layers of grief, becoming daily farther
away.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage consists of compact anecdotes with translator notes embedded
in the supplied text. Literal extraction is straightforward, while motif labels
are cautious because many meanings are aphoristic rather than fully narrated.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Used only the supplied passage text and metadata. Comparison claims left empty because the passage does not itself support a specific cross-textual comparison beyond internal analogies and didactic patterns.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg__l10611-l10773
passage_sha256=f5656e8a635528dff35adcb167d25aa339ef89430f1f71b884ac1ae5537f129f