Hanzi

Zhuangzi, whose given name was Zhou, was a philosopher from Meng in the state of Song during the Warring States period. One day, Zhuangzi was observing fish by the Hao River bank with Huizi, another philosopher from the state of Song at that time.

Zhuangzi said, "Look how effortlessly and freely these fish swim in the water! How happy they must be!"

Huizi replied, "You are not a fish, so how do you know they are happy?"

Zhuangzi countered, "You are not me, so how can you be sure that I don't know they are happy?"

Huizi said, "I am not you, so of course I don't know whether you are happy or sad. But you are certainly not a fish, so it is unequivocally certain that you do not know the fish's happiness."

Zhuangzi responded, "Let's start from the beginning: you just asked me how I knew the fish were happy, which implies that you believed I could know their happiness, otherwise you wouldn't have asked. I'll tell you now, I perceive it from my own feelings. As you and I wander by the Hao River, observing the fish, we are leisurely and at ease, enjoying ourselves. These fish are in fact playing in the water, calmly and unhurriedly observing us both, and they, of course, feel just as happy as we do."