batch.motif.daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg-l13952-l14081
---
record_id: batch.motif.daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg-l13952-l14081
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
passage_locator:
label: ON SWORDS. / CHAPTER XXXI. / THE OLD FISHERMAN. / CHAPTER XXXII.; lines 13952-14081
start: '13952'
end: '14081'
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: ''
summary: The passage gives maxims on virtue, success, wisdom, destiny, senses, and
intuition; recounts Chuang Tzŭ warning a man about dangerous rewards from a prince
through a pearl-and-dragon parable; shows Chuang Tzŭ refusing official service
through the image of a sacrificial ox; and presents Chuang Tzŭ’s death-bed rejection
of elaborate burial, treating Heaven, Earth, and all creation as sufficient funeral
provision and accepting his body’s return to animals or insects.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage lists eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and thought as five sources of
injury to virtue.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A man who had received ten chariots from the prince of Sung put on airs before
Chuang Tzŭ.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Chuang Tzŭ tells of a poor man whose son dived into a river and obtained a
valuable pearl from deep below, near a sleeping dragon.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Chuang Tzŭ compares the prince of Sung to a fierce dragon and warns that the
rewarded man may be destroyed when the prince wakes.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: When invited to enter a prince’s service, Chuang Tzŭ replies with the example
of a sacrificial ox decorated and well fed before slaughter.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Chuang Tzŭ’s disciples wish to give him a splendid funeral when he is about
to die.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: Chuang Tzŭ says Heaven and Earth, the sun, moon, stars, and all creation already
provide his funeral paraphernalia.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The disciples fear that carrion kites will eat Chuang Tzŭ’s body, and he answers
that burial merely shifts the body from kites to mole-crickets and ants.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: The passage contrasts reliance on senses with guidance by intuitions, saying
that senses enslave people to objective existences while intuitions find the true
standard.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Chuang Tzŭ
description: Teacher and speaker in the anecdotes; warns others, refuses office,
and speaks at his death-bed.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: man presented with ten chariots
description: A man who had visited the prince of Sung and received ten chariots,
then put on airs before Chuang Tzŭ.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: prince of Sung
description: Ruler who presents ten chariots; Chuang Tzŭ describes him as fiercer
than a dragon.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: poor man at Ho-Shang
description: A poor man supporting his family by plaiting rushes; he tells his son
to smash the pearl.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: son of the poor man
description: The son dives into the river and obtains a pearl worth a thousand ounces
of silver.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: dragon
description: A dragon whose nose is near the deep place where the pearl was obtained;
it is said to have been asleep.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: envoy
description: An envoy who relays an invitation for Chuang Tzŭ to enter a prince’s
service.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: sacrificial ox
description: An ox bedecked with ribbons and fed sumptuously before being slaughtered
for the temple.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: neglected calf
description: A neglected calf used as the contrast to the decorated sacrificial
ox.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: disciples of Chuang Tzŭ
description: Disciples who wish to give Chuang Tzŭ a splendid funeral and fear carrion
kites will eat his body.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: carrion kite
description: Bird named by the disciples as a possible eater of Chuang Tzŭ’s body
above ground.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: mole-crickets and ants
description: Insects named by Chuang Tzŭ as eaters of the body below ground.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Diogenes
description: A figure in the translator’s comparison note who gives a similar reply
about being left unburied and eaten by animals.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: teacher of maxims and parables
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Chuang Tzŭ delivers warnings and illustrative examples about rewards, office,
death, and standards of knowledge.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: refuser of official service
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He answers an invitation to service by invoking the sacrificial ox that would
prefer being a neglected calf.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: dying master rejecting splendid funeral
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: At death, he rejects elaborate burial by naming cosmic elements as sufficient
funeral provision.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: recipient of dangerous favor
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He has received ten chariots from the prince of Sung and is warned that this
gain is dangerous.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: dangerous ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Chuang Tzŭ says the prince of Sung is fiercer than a dragon and may destroy
the recipient when he wakes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: cautious father
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: He instructs his son to smash the pearl because it came from near a sleeping
dragon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: diver who obtains treasure
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The son dives into the river and gets a pearl worth a thousand ounces of
silver.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: sleeping dangerous guardian
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The dragon is said to have been asleep when the pearl was obtained and dangerous
when awake.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: messenger of service invitation
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The envoy receives Chuang Tzŭ’s reply to the prince’s invitation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:10
label: honored victim
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The ox is adorned and well fed but destined for slaughter at the temple.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:11
label: humble alternative
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The neglected calf is the condition the sacrificial ox would gladly exchange
for before slaughter.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:12
label: concerned mourners
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: They want a splendid funeral and fear the body will be eaten by kites.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:13
label: consumers of the corpse
assigned_to:
- fig:11
- fig:12
basis: Chuang Tzŭ contrasts above-ground kites with below-ground mole-crickets and
ants as eaters of the body.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:14
label: parallel anecdotal sage
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: The translator’s note compares Diogenes’ reply about animals eating his unburied
body to Chuang Tzŭ’s reply.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: five sensory and mental sources
literal_form: eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and thought
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: ten chariots
literal_form: ten chariots presented by the prince of Sung
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: deep river
literal_form: river at Ho-Shang into which the son dives
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: pearl from under the dragon’s nose
literal_form: pearl worth a thousand ounces of silver
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: sleeping dragon
literal_form: dragon asleep near the pearl in the deep river
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: sacrificial ox
literal_form: ribbon-bedecked ox fed sumptuously before temple slaughter
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: cosmic funeral apparatus
literal_form: Heaven and Earth, sun, moon, stars, and all creation as coffin, shell,
regalia, and escort
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:8
label: body as food for creatures
literal_form: body eaten above ground by kites or below ground by mole-crickets
and ants
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Maxims on virtue, success, destiny, and knowing
summary: The passage opens with statements about injuries to virtue, causes of failure
and success, wisdom, destiny, and the contrast between senses and intuition.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- id: scene:2
label: Warning about the prince of Sung’s reward
summary: A man boasts after receiving ten chariots, and Chuang Tzŭ uses a parable
of a boy obtaining a pearl from near a sleeping dragon to warn that favor from
the prince is dangerous.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Refusal of service through the sacrificial ox
summary: When invited to serve a prince, Chuang Tzŭ answers that a decorated sacrificial
ox would prefer to be a neglected calf before slaughter.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Death-bed rejection of splendid funeral
summary: Chuang Tzŭ’s disciples propose a splendid funeral, but he says cosmic elements
already furnish the burial and that burial only reallocates his body among creatures.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Translator’s comparison with Diogenes
summary: A note compares Chuang Tzŭ’s reply about animals eating his corpse with
a similar reply attributed to Diogenes.
figure_refs:
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Wisdom through paradoxical teaching and parable
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Chuang Tzŭ teaches by lists, maxims, and paradoxical anecdotes about honor,
danger, office, death, and the unreliability of senses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is philosophical and anecdotal rather than mythic narrative;
the motif label captures function more than a discrete myth plot.
- id: motif:2
label: Dangerous treasure guarded by a sleeping dragon
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The pearl is obtained from deep under a river near a sleeping dragon, and
the danger is projected onto the prince’s favor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The dragon episode is explicitly a parable inside the passage, not an
independent adventure narrative.
- id: motif:3
label: Honored animal destined for sacrifice
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The sacrificial ox is adorned and well fed but is destined to be slaughtered
for the temple, illustrating danger in prestigious service.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The sacrificial image is used as an analogy for political service.
- id: motif:4
label: Cosmic burial and acceptance of bodily dissolution
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Chuang Tzŭ treats Heaven, Earth, sun, moon, stars, and all creation as funeral
equipment and accepts being food for kites or insects.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: No afterlife journey or resurrection is described; the focus is on burial,
nature, and bodily return.
- id: motif:5
label: Intuition superior to the senses
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage states that those who trust the senses become slaves to objective
existences, while those guided by intuitions find the true standard.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: This is a doctrinal statement rather than a narrative motif.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage’s note explicitly compares Chuang Tzŭ’s acceptance of his corpse
being eaten by animals with a similar anecdote about Diogenes being left unburied
and eaten by dogs and birds.
claim_level: same_function
target: Diogenes anecdote about being left unburied and eaten by animals
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is supplied by the translator’s note, not developed
within the Chuang Tzŭ narrative itself; no historical contact is claimed.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 13952-13976
quote_or_summary: The passage says looking outward destroys introspection, lists
eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and thought as sources of injury to virtue, and gives
numbered causes of failure, success, weakness, and strength.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 13977-13982
quote_or_summary: A man visits the prince of Sung, receives ten chariots, and behaves
proudly before Chuang Tzŭ.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 13983-13993
quote_or_summary: Chuang Tzŭ tells of a poor rush-plaiter at Ho-Shang whose son
dives into the river and obtains a pearl worth a thousand ounces from near a sleeping
dragon; the father tells him to smash it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 13994-13999
quote_or_summary: Chuang Tzŭ says the State of Sung is deeper than a river and its
prince fiercer than a dragon; obtaining the chariots means catching him asleep,
and when he wakes the man will be ground to powder.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 14000-14009
quote_or_summary: An envoy invites Chuang Tzŭ to serve a prince; he replies by asking
whether a ribbon-bedecked, well-fed sacrificial ox would not prefer being a neglected
calf when slaughter approaches.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 14010-14025
quote_or_summary: As Chuang Tzŭ is about to die, the disciples want a splendid funeral;
he says Heaven and Earth are his coffin and shell, the sun, moon, and stars his
burial regalia, and all creation his escort.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: 14026-14035
quote_or_summary: "“Above ground I shall be food for kites; below I shall be food
for mole-crickets and ants. Why rob one to feed the other?”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; short excerpt.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 14055-14066
quote_or_summary: The passage says relative standards of evenness and rightness
cannot produce absolute results, and contrasts sense-bound knowledge with intuition
as the true standard.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 14036-14054
quote_or_summary: A translator’s note compares Chuang Tzŭ’s reply with Diogenes,
who reportedly answered objections about being left unburied and eaten by animals
by saying unconsciousness would make it irrelevant.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/daoist/project-gutenberg/chuang-tzu-giles.md
rights_note: Public domain translation and note; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The main literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labels are cautious
because the passage is primarily philosophical and anecdotal. The only comparison
claim is based on the passage’s own translator note.
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. Available taxonomy references were applied only where directly supported.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:daoist-zhuangzi-giles-gutenberg__l13952-l14081
passage_sha256=89505f4487d3e1d8fdc223effa62fe9996023516ece731b662356424a2d7853e