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> The king put him in command of his forces to engage Yue’s navy in a midwinter river battle and the forces of Yue were routed The story is nice but some detai

> The king put him in command of his forces to engage Yue’s navy in a midwinter river battle and the forces of Yue were routed The story is nice but some details ruin it IMO.. How would a salesman know how to command an army ? Also, the success of an army depends on a huge number of factors, not only dryness of hands.. Military strategy seems more important than hands

biofox 5y ago
Dry socks win battles
powerapple 5y ago
During that time, travelers are people have knowledge and skills, are looking for opportunity to serve a king. One would travel country to country and find a king who value his knowledge.
matheusmoreira 5y ago
> Military strategy seems more important than hands Can't wield weapons without hands.
- marginalia_nu 5y ago
  Not with that attitude.
arbitrabbit 5y ago
The traveler’s name was Strider.
ppseafield 5y ago
This is essentially a parable nested in another story to make a very specific point. The story this appears in shows Huizi complaining to Zhuangzi about some extremely massive gourds that he couldn't use as one might use as e.g. a ladle, so he get frustrated and smashes them. Zhuangzi comments that obviously they would be better as floating vessels, and Huizi could have floated down the river in them. All that to make a more general point: if you have the wrong expectations for the way something is, you're going to suffer because of those expectations. The silk-washing family was frustrated because they believed the balm could only be used in one way which kept them very poor and worn out. Huizi suffered because he was gifted seeds for some very large gourds, but expected to use them like normal-sized gourds, and eventually destroyed the gift after expending much time and effort on them.
- js2 5y ago
  > if you have the wrong expectations for the way something is, you're going to suffer because of those expectations. OTOH: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” -- George Bernard Shaw

biofox 5y ago

Dry socks win battles

powerapple 5y ago

During that time, travelers are people have knowledge and skills, are looking for opportunity to serve a king. One would travel country to country and find a king who value his knowledge.

matheusmoreira 5y ago

> Military strategy seems more important than hands Can't wield weapons without hands.

marginalia_nu 5y ago
Not with that attitude.

arbitrabbit 5y ago

The traveler’s name was Strider.

ppseafield 5y ago

This is essentially a parable nested in another story to make a very specific point. The story this appears in shows Huizi complaining to Zhuangzi about some extremely massive gourds that he couldn't use as one might use as e.g. a ladle, so he get frustrated and smashes them. Zhuangzi comments that obviously they would be better as floating vessels, and Huizi could have floated down the river in them. All that to make a more general point: if you have the wrong expectations for the way something is, you're going to suffer because of those expectations. The silk-washing family was frustrated because they believed the balm could only be used in one way which kept them very poor and worn out. Huizi suffered because he was gifted seeds for some very large gourds, but expected to use them like normal-sized gourds, and eventually destroyed the gift after expending much time and effort on them.

js2 5y ago
> if you have the wrong expectations for the way something is, you're going to suffer because of those expectations. OTOH: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” -- George Bernard Shaw