The Free Flight of Kunpeng

In the Northern Sea There Is a Fish

The fish Kun of the Northern Sea becomes the giant bird Peng, soaring 90,000 li on the whirlwind to the Southern Sea — Zhuangzi's image of perfect freedom.

The Zhuangzi opens with immortal lines: "In the Northern Sea there is a fish named Kun, whose size spans who knows how many thousand li. It transforms into a bird named Peng, whose back spans who knows how many thousand li; when it rouses and flies, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky." Riding the wind of the sixth month, Peng surges over three thousand li of water and climbs ninety thousand li. The cicada and the dove laugh — but, says Zhuangzi, "small knowledge cannot match great knowledge, small years cannot match great years." True freedom transcends the petty self.