以己養養鳥 vs. 以鳥養養鳥, 好意圖未必有好結果

The purpose of all laws, morals, institutions(體製）, and governments, is to establish uniformity and suppress difference. The motivation of the people who try to enforce this uniformity may be wholly admirable. When they find something that is good for them, they maybe anxious to see that others have it also. This good intention of theirs, however, only makes the situation more tragic. In the Chuang-tzu there is a story which says: "Of old, when a seabird alighted outside the capital of Lu (從前有一隻海鳥棲息在魯國京城郊外），the Marquis went out to receive it, gave it wine in the temple, and had the Chiu-shao music played to amuse it, and a bullock slaughtered to feed it. But the bird was dazed and too timid to eat or drink anything. In three days it was dead. This was treating the bird as one would treat oneself, not the the bird as a bird...(魯侯禦而觴之於廟，奏九韶以為樂，具太牢以為膳。鳥乃眩視憂悲，不敢食一臠，不敢飲一杯，三日而死，此以己養養鳥也，非以鳥養養鳥也。）Water is life to fish but is death to man. Being differently constituted, their likes and dislikes must necessarily differ. Therefore the early sages did not make abilities and occupations uniform." (魚處水而生，人處水而死，彼必相與異，其好惡故異也。故先聖不一其能，不同其事）

When the Marquis treated the bird in a way which he considered the most honorable, he certainly had good intentions. Yet the result was just opposite to what he expected. This is what happens when uniform codes of laws and morals are enforced by government and society upon the individual.

This is why Chuang Tzu violently opposes the idea of governing through the formal machinery of government, and maintains instead that the best way of governing is through non-government.(無為而治） He says:"I have heard of letting mankind alone, but not of governing mankind. Letting alone springs from the fear that people will pollute their innate nature and set aside their Te. When people do not pollute their innate nature and set aside their Te, then is there need for the government of mankind?" (Ch. 11) (莊子在宥篇說：“聞在宥（自在寬容）天下，不聞治天下也。在之也者，恐天下之淫其性也；宥之也者，恐天下之遷其德也。天下不淫其性，不遷其德，有治天下者哉！”

If one fails to leave people alone, and tries instead to rule them with laws and institutions, the process is like putting a halter around a horse's neck or a string through an ox's nose. It is also like lengthening the legs of the duck or shortening those of the crane. What is natural and spontaneous is changed into something artificial, which is called by Chuang Tzu "overcoming what is of nature by what is of man." (以人滅天，Ch.17.) Its result can only be misery and unhappiness.

Thus Chuang Tzu and Lao Tzu both advocate government through non-government,but for somewhat different reasons. Lao Tzu emphasizes his general principle that "reversing is the movement of the Tao." (反者道之動）。The more one governs, he argues, the less one achieves the desired result. And Chuang Tzu emphasizes the distinction between what is of nature and what is of man. The more the former is overcome by the latter, the more there will be misery and unhappiness.

Thus far we have only seen Chuang Tzu's way of achieving relative happiness. Such relative happiness is achieved when one simply follows what is natural in oneself. This every man can do. The political and social philosophy of Chuang Tzu aimes at achieving precisely such relative happiness for every man. This and nothing more is the most that any political and social philosophy can hope to do.