Section: Inner Chapter (内篇) | Chinese Title: 大宗师 (Dà Zōngshī)

The sixth chapter confronts the two deepest questions: what is the Dào, and what is death? It contains the Zhuāngzǐ's only direct description of the Dào and its most detailed treatment of the True Person (真人 Zhēnrén). The "Great Ancestral Teacher" of the title is the Dào itself — the ultimate teacher from which all lesser teachings derive.

The chapter opens with the portrait of the Zhēnrén (真人, True Person) of antiquity. The True Person breathes from the heels (真人之息以踵 Zhēnrén zhī xī yǐ zhǒng), while ordinary people breathe from the throat. The True Person does not oppose life with the mind, does not assist Heaven with the human, does not let knowledge lead the way. This passage has been foundational for Daoist breathing practice and Nèidān (内丹, Internal Alchemy) ever since.

The Dào receives its only direct description in the entire text: it has reality and evidence (有情有信) but no action and no form (无为无形). It can be transmitted but not received; it can be attained but not seen. It is its own root. Before Heaven and Earth existed, it was already there since ancient times. It gives spirituality to spirits and gods, it gives birth to Heaven and Earth. This passage has been described as "demonstrably adapted" from Chapter 21 of the Dàodéjīng.

The chapter's most memorable image concerns fish stranded on dry land. When the springs dry up and fish are left on the ground, they moisten each other with damp breath and wet each other with spittle. But it would be better, the text says, to forget each other in the rivers and lakes (相忘于江湖 xiāng wàng yú jiānghú). This became one of the most famous phrases in Chinese literature, expressing the idea that the highest relationship is one of such naturalness that both parties can forget the other exists — because neither needs anything from the relationship.

Several groups of friends discuss death with equanimity. Zǐ Sì (子祀), Zǐ Yú (子舆), Zǐ Lí (子犁), and Zǐ Lái (子来) agree that whoever can take Nothingness as the head, Life as the spine, and Death as the tail shall be their friend. Zǐ Lái falls ill. His wife weeps, but he composes himself and wonders what the Creator will make of him next — perhaps a rooster's liver, perhaps a bug's leg. The tone throughout is not grief but wonder.

Yán Huí achieves Zuòwàng (坐忘, sitting and forgetting): he drops body and mind, dismisses perception and understanding, and becomes one with the Great Pervader (大通 Dàtōng). Even Confucius expresses the wish to follow him.

For the martial artist, the True Person's breathing "from the heels" describes the deep abdominal breath that roots through the entire body. The fish-in-rivers metaphor describes the ideal training relationship: partners who can push hands naturally, without attachment to winning or performing, because both operate within the flow.

Key Passages in Chinese

夫道，有情有信，无为无形。
Fū Dào, yǒu qíng yǒu xìn, wúwéi wúxíng.
— The Dào has reality and evidence, but no action and no form.

泉涸，鱼相与处于陆，相呴以湿，相濡以沫，不如相忘于江湖。
Quán hé, yú xiāngyǔ chǔ yú lù, xiāng xǔ yǐ shī, xiāng rú yǐ mò, bùrú xiāng wàng yú jiānghú.
— When the springs dry up and fish are stranded on land, they moisten each other with damp breath and wet each other with spittle — but it would be better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes.

真人之息以踵，众人之息以喉。
Zhēnrén zhī xī yǐ zhǒng, zhòngrén zhī xī yǐ hóu.
— The True Person breathes from the heels; ordinary people breathe from the throat.

Parables and Key Episodes

• The True Person breathes from the heels — portrait of complete mastery
• The Dào described: reality without form, transmittable but not receivable
• Fish forget each other in rivers and lakes (相忘于江湖) — naturalness beyond attachment
• Four friends agree: Nothingness as head, Life as spine, Death as tail
• Zǐ Lái's illness — wondering what the Creator will make of him next
• Yán Huí achieves Zuòwàng (坐忘) — sitting and forgetting, dissolving body and mind
• Confucius asks to follow Yán Huí — the teacher humbled by the student's attainment

Key Terms

• Zhēnrén (真人) — The True Person, one who breathes from the heels and does not oppose life with the mind
• Zuòwàng (坐忘) — Sitting and forgetting, the meditative dissolution of self
• Dàtōng (大通) — The Great Pervader, the state of union with the Dào
• Xiāng Wàng (相忘) — Forgetting each other, the highest form of natural relationship