B U R E A U O F P U B L I C S E C R E T S

Chuang Tzu:

“The Dexterous Butcher”

(Four Translations)



Cook Ting was cutting up an ox for Lord Wen-hui. As every touch of his hand, every heave of his shoulder, every move of his feet, every thrust of his knee  zip! zoop! He slithered the knife along with a zing, and all was in perfect rhythm, as though he were performing the dance of the Mulberry Grove or keeping time to the Ching-shou music.

Ah, this is marvelous! said Lord Wen-hui. Imagine skill reaching such heights!

Cook Ting laid down his knife and replied, What I care about is the Way, which goes beyond skill. When I first began cutting up oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years I no longer saw the whole ox. And now  now I go at it by spirit and dont look with my eyes. Perception and understanding have come to a stop and spirit moves where it wants. I go along with the natural makeup, strike in the big hollows, guide the knife through the big openings, and following things as they are. So I never touch the smallest ligament or tendon, much less a main joint.

A good cook changes his knife once a year  because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his knife once a month  because he hacks. Ive had this knife of mine for nineteen years and Ive cut up thousands of oxen with it, and yet the blade is as good as though it had just come from the grindstone. There are spaces between the joints, and the blade of the knife has really no thickness. If you insert what has no thickness into such spaces, then theres plenty of room  more than enough for the blade to play about it. Thats why after nineteen years the blade of my knife is still as good as when it first came from the grindstone.

However, whenever I come to a complicated place, I size up the difficulties, tell myself to watch out and be careful, keep my eyes on what Im doing, work very slowly, and move the knife with the greatest subtlety, until  flop! the whole thing comes apart like a clod of earth crumbling to the ground. I stand there holding the knife and look all around me, completely satisfied and reluctant to move on, and then I wipe off the knife and put it away.

Excellent! said Lord Wen-hui. I have heard the words of Cook Ting and learned how to care for life!

Translated by Burton Watson

(Chuang Tzu: The Basic Writings, 1964)



Prince Wen Huis cook

Was cutting up an ox.

Out went a hand,

Down went a shoulder,

He planted a foot,

He pressed with a knee,

The ox fell apart

With a whisper,

The bright cleaver murmured

Like a gentle wind.

Rhythm! Timing!

Like a sacred dance,

Like “The Mulberry Grove,”

Like ancient harmonies!

Good work!” the Prince exclaimed,

Your method is faultless!”

Method?” said the cook

Laying aside his cleaver,

What I follow is Tao

Beyond all methods!

When I first began

To cut up oxen

I would see before me

The whole ox

All in one mass.

After three years

I no longer saw this mass.

I saw the distinctions.

But now, I see nothing

With the eye. My whole being

Apprehends.

My senses are idle. The spirit

Free to work without plan

Follows its own instinct

Guided by natural line,

By the secrets opening, the hidden space,

My cleaver finds its own way.

I cut through no joint, chop no bone.

A good cook needs a new chopper

Once a year  he cuts.

A poor cook needs a new one

Every month  he hacks!

I have used this same cleaver

Nineteen years.

It has cut up

A thousand oxen.

Its edge is as keen

As if newly sharpened.

There are spaces in the joints;

The blade is thin and keen:

When this thinness

Finds that space

There is all the room you need!

It goes like a breeze!

Hence I have this cleaver nineteen years

As if newly sharpened!

True, there are sometimes

Tough joints. I feel them coming,

I slow down, I watch closely,

Hold back, barely moving the blade,

And whump! the part falls away

Landing like a clod of earth.

Then I withdraw the blade,

I stand still

And let the joy of the work

Sink in. I clean the blade

And put it away.”

Prince Wan Hui said,

This is it! My cook has shown me

How I ought to live

My own life!”

Translated by Thomas Merton

(The Way of Chuang Tzu, 1965)



Cook Ting was carving an ox for Lord Wen-hui. As his hand slapped, shoulder lunged, foot stamped, knee crooked, with a hiss! with a thud! the brandished blade as it sliced never missed the rhythm, now in time with the Mulberry Forest dance, now with an orchestra playing the Ching-shou.

Oh, excellent! said Lord Wen-hui. That skill should attain such heights!

What your servant cares about is the Way, I have left skill behind me. When I first began to carve oxen, I saw nothing but oxen wherever I looked. Three years more and I never saw an ox as a whole. Nowadays I am in touch with the daemonic in me, and do not look with the eye. With the senses I know where to stop, the daemonic I desire to run its course. I rely on Heavens structuring, cleave along the main seams, let myself be guided by the main cavities, go by what is inherently so. A ligament or tendon I never touch, not to mention solid bone. A good cook changes his chopper once a year, because he hacks. A common cook changes it once a month, because he smashes. Now I have had this chopper for nineteen years, and have taken apart several thousand oxen, but the edge is as though it were fresh from the grindstone. At that joint there is an interval, and the choppers edge has no thickness; if you insert what has no thickness where there is an interval, then, what more could you ask, of course there is ample room to move the edge about. Thats why after nineteen years the edge of my chopper is as though it were fresh from the grindstone.

However, whenever I come to something intricate, I see where it will be hard to handle and cautiously prepare myself, my gaze settles on it, action slows down for it, you scarcely see the flick of the chopper  and at one stroke the tangle has been unravelled, as a clod crumbles to the ground. I stand chopper in hand, look proudly round at everyone, dawdle to enjoy the triumph until Im quite satisfied, then clean the chopper and put it away.

Excellent! said Lord Wen-hui. Listening to the words of Cook Ting, I have learned from them how to nurture life.

Translated by A.C. Graham

(Chuang-tzu: The Seven Inner Chapters and Other Writings from the Book Chuang-tzu, 1981)



Ting the cook was cutting meat free from the bones of an ox for Lord Wen-hui. His hands danced as his shoulders turned with the step of his foot and bending of his knee. With a shush and a hush, the blade sang following his lead, never missing a note. Ting and his blade moved as though dancing to The Mulberry Grove, or as if conducting the Ching-shou with a full orchestra.

Lord Wen-hui exclaimed, What a joy! Its good, is it not, that such a simple craft can be so elevated?

Ting laid aside his knife. All I care about is the Way. If find it in my craft, thats all. When I first butchered an ox, I saw nothing but ox meat. It took three years for me to see the whole ox. Now I go out to meet it with my whole spirit and dont think only about what meets the eye. Sensing and knowing stop. The spirit goes where it will, following the natural contours, revealing large cavities, leading the blade through openings, moving onward according to actual form  yet not touching the central arteries or tendons and ligaments, much less touching bone.

A good cook need sharpen his blade but once a year. He cuts cleanly. An awkward cook sharpens his knife every month. He chops. Ive used this knife for nineteen years, carving thousands of oxen. Still the blade is as sharp as the first time it was lifted from the whetstone. At the joints there are spaces, and the blade has no thickness. Entering with no thickness where there is space, the blade may move freely where it will: theres plenty of room to move. Thus, after nineteen years, my knife remains as sharp as it was that first day.

Even so, there are always difficult places, and when I see rough going ahead, my heart offers proper respect as I pause to look deeply into it. Then I work slowly, moving my blade with increasing subtlety until  kerplop!  meat falls apart like a crumbling clod of earth. I then raise my knife and assess my work until Im fully satisfied. Then I give my knife a good cleaning and put it carefully away.

Lord Wen-hui said, Thats good, indeed! Ting the cook has shown me how to find the Way to nurture life.

Translated by Sam Hamill and J.P. Seaton

(The Essential Chuang Tzu, 1998)



Four translations of a story from Chuang Tzu (Chapter 3).



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