Zhuangzi and Huizi were strolling along the bridge over the Hao River. Zhuangzi said, “The minnows swim about so freely, following the openings wherever they take them. Such is the happiness of fish.”
Huizi said, “You are not a fish, so whence do you know the happiness of fish?”
Zhuangzi said, “You are not I, so whence do you know I don’t know the happiness of fish?”
"I'm not you", said Master Hui, "so I certainly do not know what you do. But you're certainly not a fish, so it is irrefutable that you do not know what the joy of fishes is."
"Let's go back to where we started," said Master Chuang (Zuangzi). "When you said, 'How do you know what the joy of fishes is?' you asked me because you already knew that I knew. I know it by strolling over the Hao."
The last answer has a bit of snarky element lost in this translation. 安知 (translated to "whence do you know" here) in ancient Chinese can mean both "how do you know" and "where do you know". Here clearly they intended the former meaning at the start of the discussion.
In his last comment, Zhuangzi deliberately interpreted it as "you asked me where do I know, I know it here, just above the river". You can either interpret that as an evasion of the question or a statement that the question is meaningless.
Ah, so a kind of "Where did you get the notion the fish was happy?"
"Where? On the bridge over the Hao."
The great thing about ancient philosophers is sometimes the difference between wisdom and being a smartass is a very thin line.
The last answer has a bit of snarky element lost in this translation. 安知 (translated to "whence do you know" here) in ancient Chinese can mean both "how do you know" and "where do you know". Here clearly they intended the former meaning at the start of the discussion.
In his last comment, Zhuangzi deliberately interpreted it as "you asked me where do I know, I know it here, just above the river". You can either interpret that as an evasion of the question or a statement that the question is meaningless.
Ah, so a kind of "Where did you get the notion the fish was happy?"
"Where? On the bridge over the Hao."
The great thing about ancient philosophers is sometimes the difference between wisdom and being a smartass is a very thin line.