Calligraphy-Autumn Floods 《庄子-秋水篇》

Description

This piece features Raymond’s handwritten calligraphy of Autumn Floods, one of the most representative chapters in Zhuangzi’s philosophy. The text carries profound insight into humility, open-mindedness, and the vast perspective that emerges when one transcends the limits of the self. It is also the chapter Raymond has copied more than any other, for each time he writes it, he is reminded anew of his own smallness before the vastness of the world.

The following is the translation of the original text:

When the autumn floods arrived, all the rivers poured into the Yellow River. The water swelled so wide that you could no longer tell cattle from horses across the far bank. The River God was delighted, believing that all the beauty of the world belonged to him.

He followed the river eastward until he reached the Northern Sea. Looking out toward the horizon, he could no longer see where the waters began or ended. Suddenly humbled, he sighed and said to the Sea God:

“People say that someone who learns a little thinks no one can match him. That describes me perfectly. I once heard others say Confucius’ wisdom and Bo Yi’s virtue were overrated, and I didn’t believe it. Now that I’ve seen your vastness, I realize how limited I was. Had I not come here, I would have remained ignorant and become a laughingstock among the wise.”

The Sea God replied:

“A frog in a well cannot discuss the ocean — it is limited by its narrow space.
A summer insect cannot discuss ice — it knows only its own season.
A narrow-minded person cannot discuss the Dao — he is trapped by what he has been taught.

“Now that you have left the confines of your riverbanks and seen the great sea, you understand your own limits. Only then can we speak of greater truths.

“Under heaven, nothing is larger than the sea. Countless rivers flow into it without filling it; it releases water without ever being emptied. Floods and droughts do not change it. By comparison, great rivers like the Yangtze and the Yellow River are insignificant.

“And yet I have never boasted of myself. For when I compare my existence to heaven and earth, I am like a small stone or a tiny tree on a vast mountain. How could I think highly of myself?

“The lands within the four seas are small compared to the world. The Middle Kingdom is even smaller — like a single grain of rice in a huge granary. Humans are only one among countless beings, not even equal to a single hair on a horse.

“All that the Five Emperors governed, all that the Three Kings struggled over, all that the virtuous worried about and officials toiled for — all of it is tiny. Bo Yi became famous for refusing to rule it, and Confucius became known for teaching about it. They too were making much of themselves — just as you once did with your river water.”