Confucius’s Dream of an Eggshell

NMH

13-12-2025

Created by ChatGPT

Early in the morning, Zhuangzi notices Kingfisher by the pond. At times, it joyfully plunges into the water and flies back up, carefree and refreshed. Yet after a while, it grows pensive, its demeanor turning quietly somber.

Zhuangzi walks to the pond’s edge, near the branch Kingfisher has chosen to perch on, and waves his hand.

When Kingfisher flies over, Zhuangzi asks:

— Your spirit seems unsettled and erratic—are you perhaps caught in a dream?

Kingfisher widens its eyes and replies with admiration:

— Zhuangzi truly has the awakened eye. I merely fly and perch, then fly again—how did you know that I am dreaming?

Zhuangzi does not answer at once. He observes Kingfisher carefully, then speaks softly:

— Confucius was expounding on Ritual, revered by all under Heaven, yet Laozi—upon hearing only Confucius’ question—already knew that he was lost in a great dream. Knowing that you are dreaming is hardly difficult at all!

Kingfisher pleads earnestly:

— Your learning is extraordinary, Zhuangzi. Please enlighten this foolish one.

Zhuangzi replies unhurriedly:

— There is one who dreams of eating divine fish; upon waking, he weeps in regret. The same person may dream of being eaten by fish, and when he wakes, he feels immense joy. While dreaming, he does not know that he is dreaming. Sometimes, within the dream, he even dreams that he is dreaming. And after waking, he may still not know whether he has truly awakened—or whether he has merely awakened from a lesser dream while still remaining in the great dream.

Kingfisher bows inwardly, convinced and grateful:

— I am deeply indebted to you, Zhuangzi, for opening my eyes.

After a moment of reflection, Kingfisher asks again:

— May I further trouble you to explain how my dream of fish is connected to Confucius and Laozi?”

Zhuangzi waves his hand, signaling that Kingfisher now owes him a good catch of fish, and answers:

— Kong Qiu is obstinate! He takes his own doctrine of revering rulers to be enlightenment itself, regarding kings and princes as noble, and herdsmen as base. He then seeks to impose rites and rituals upon all under Heaven so that this unequal distinction between the noble and the lowly may endure forever, mistaking it for order. Yet Confucius dimly sensed that he had not attained the Dao, and thus went to question Laozi in hopes of gaining clarity.

Kingfisher asks eagerly:

— Did Laozi instruct him?

Zhuangzi shakes his head. After a pause, he speaks as if recounting a tale:

— Laozi saw that Confucius had placed his entire heart and entrails into ritual, striving to practice and preach it to the point of dreamlike obsession. The result was that he grew ever farther from the Dao. Thus, Laozi could not instruct him—because to act deliberately in this way is to misunderstand the Dao of wu wei, leading only to contention. One might even end up falling into another realm of dreaming, no longer able to see the path to awakening.

Kingfisher exclaims in surprise:

— So, he gave Confucius no sign at all for awakening from the dream?

Zhuangzi replies:

— He did give a sign. Laozi said that when the Dao declines, Ritual becomes as fragile as an eggshell. He was implying that, amid the storms of war, clinging even to an eggshell is already a dream—and to believe that carrying this eggshell from state to state for display could halt wars, restore universal care, and bring harmony—would that not be the greatest dream of all?!

Kingfisher rejoices:

— Truly extraordinary.

Zhuangzi continues:

— Laozi’s attainment of the Dao lies on a far loftier plane. Laozi understood that, even if it took Confucius his entire lifetime, he would eventually come to realize it. Yet in the eyes of the Dao, what humans call ‘a long time,’ even a whole lifetime, is not long at all—no more than the span from morning to evening.

At this point, Zhuangzi pauses, then rubs his belly with his hand, his face contorting in discomfort. Seeing this, Kingfisher understands the hint, springs up onto a tree branch, and fixes its gaze on the water, watching for fish—no trace of dreaminess left at all.

References

[1] Vuong QH. (2024). Wild Wise Weird. https://books.google.com/books?id=N10jEQAAQBAJ

[2] Zhuang Zhou. (1964). Zhuangzi.

[3] Laozi. (1868). Tao Te Ching.

[4] Nguyen MH. (2025). Kingfisherish Wandering. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FVLLLXNW/