Zhuangzi · 大宗師第六
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相濡以沫，不如相忘於江湖
Moistening one another with foam is less good than forgetting one another in rivers and lakes.
zimai · AI-assisted editorial notes · Editorial pilot · not independently reviewed · CC BY-SA 4.0A route through this passage
39 Han characters · 28 distinct forms · 7 units separated by the witness’s punctuation
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- Test one unit.
魚相與處於陸，
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Investigate 8 written forms in this passage
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魚相與處於陸，Locate a relation ↗不如相忘於江湖。Keep different negatives apart ↗與其譽堯而非桀也，Keep different negatives apart ↗Watch recurrence: 相 × 4 與 × 2 於 × 2 以 × 2 不 × 2 如 × 2. Repetition of a graph need not mean repetition of a sense.
Computed from this exact witness · 1 contextual editorial excerpt also available. The guide is a set of reading prompts, not a translation. Sources & methods
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1 · Explain it in your own words
2 · Recover the wording
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3 · Explain, then revisit
Why does the stranded-fish setting matter?
Compare the editorial answer
It distinguishes emergency dependence from the more sustaining condition imagined in the second clause.
zimai editorial draft · not independently reviewed. Applies to 相濡以沫，不如相忘於江湖
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Each connection states its purpose. Comparisons are editorial learning aids; shared wording alone does not prove influence.
Argument contrastCare that binds and a condition beyond dependenceSunzi’s parental comparison explains loyalty in dangerous action. Zhuangzi’s stranded fish make emergency mutual aid less desirable than a sustaining habitat. The juxtaposition asks what circumstances make care necessary, without reducing either excerpt to a universal rule for relationships.
Shared wording
Computed exact phrases in the pinned witnesses. These links do not assign a sense or assert borrowing.
莊子 · 天運第十四魚相與處以為辯；名譽之觀，不足以為廣。泉涸，魚相與處於陸，相吻以濕，相濡以沫，不若相忘於江湖！」
莊子 · 外物第二十六與其譽堯中民之行進焉耳，相引以名，相結以隱。與其譽堯而非桀，不如兩忘而閉其所譽。
Follow a connection
Shared teaching construction · an editorial learning connection, not evidence of common authorship or origin.
論語 · Identify means, basis, and purpose使民以時論語 · Locate a relation夫子至於是邦也論語 · Locate a relation信近於義論語 · Identify a comparison and its standard未若貧而樂道，富而好禮者也Edition, source, and reuse
- Work
- 莊子 · Zhuangzi
- Attribution
- Traditionally associated with Zhuang Zhou; the received collection includes multiple voices and layers.
- Digital witness
- Kanseki Repository · KR5c0126 · base edition CHANT
- Contributors
- Kanseki Repository (Kanripo) contributors; upstream base-edition labels retained in each original file.
- Source position
- KR5c0126_006.txt, lines 201–208. ZHUANG 6.2.2 Guo Qingfan 242; Wang Shumin 223; Fang Yong 1i2; Chen Guying 178
- Version
abb9cd323dfd9520894b56b3b8ba2ec0ea50554f- Reuse
- CC BY-SA 4.0. Text extraction and teaching additions share this licence.
- Text policy
- Source spelling and punctuation retained. Encoding headers, page markers, paragraph markers, whitespace, and leading section numbers are removed from the reading view. No silent script conversion or textual correction.
- Teaching
- zimai · AI-assisted editorial notes. English renderings are excerpt-level reading aids, not a full published translation. Editorial pilot · not independently reviewed.
Source-file SHA-256: 54bf82df807b58d46f89c0ef4751fbefd7aaa0da0f49060f827b3e21c0455a56. A source comment that cites a translator is an upstream reference, not the attribution of a translation imported here.