諺語 · a single proverb
莊周夢蝶
What does 莊周夢蝶 (zhuāng zhōu mèng dié) mean?
莊周夢蝶 (zhuāng zhōu mèng dié) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "Zhuangzi dreams butterfly." In use it means: The dream of transformation and the blurring of self and other; questioning the nature of identity. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Wood note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Goat.
Literally: "Zhuangzi dreams butterfly."
The reading
He dreamed he was a butterfly, free and fluttering, and when he woke he could not determine whether he was a man who had dreamed of being a butterfly or a butterfly now dreaming it was a man. This is not madness but philosophy at its most honest: identity is more permeable than we pretend, and the edges of self are genuinely uncertain. Float in that uncertainty; it is more alive than the solid version.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Zhuangzi 莊子·齊物論 (Qí Wù Lùn, On the Equalization of Things)
Sits beside
上善若水
shàng shàn ruò shuǐ
The finest virtue is like water, which benefits all things and flows to the low places without contending.
天下之至柔，馳騁天下之至堅
tiān xià zhī zhì róu chí chěng tiān xià zhī zhì jiān
The most yielding force in the world overcomes the most unyielding.
心如止水
xīn rú zhǐ shuǐ
A heart as still and clear as motionless water.
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in The Way of Water, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Goat, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 莊周夢蝶 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 莊周夢蝶 (zhuāng zhōu mèng dié) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Zhuangzi 莊子·齊物論 (Qí Wù Lùn, On the Equalization of Things). It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 莊周夢蝶?
In Mandarin it is zhuāng zhōu mèng dié. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 莊周夢蝶 aloud in Mandarin.