#장자는 너무 어렵단 말이에요

[shaguagua]

是你的太師父的莫逆之交

He is your grand master's old friend.

莫逆 is used for very close friends, it has many variation to use, 莫逆之友，莫逆之心，莫逆之間，etc. It describes deep friendship. That they don't care if their word would offend another, anyway they would say anything in their heart.

This phrase came from 莊子 內篇 第6篇, 大宗師 (Zhuangzi Inner-chapter 6, dà zōng shī; the greatest teacher). Where 孔子(Confucius)'s 4 disciples, 子祀(zǐ sì), 子輿(zǐ yú), 子犁(zǐ lí), 子來(zǐ lái), discussed about philosophical riddles.

孰能以無爲首 以生爲脊 以死爲尻

Who dare to define, naught as the head, life as the spine, death as the tail?

孰知死生存亡之一體者 吾與之友矣

Who knows the life and the death; the same, the rise and the fall; the same.

四人相視而笑 莫逆於心 遂相與爲友

Four people had lookd at each other smiling then became friends.

Here 莫逆 the literal meaning is that without clogging. It's just so difficult to explain in english as they don't use much of indeterminate forms for emphasis. It's chinese literary characteristics that there are often multiple negative praises. Sometime the meaning gets complicated that it causes many different interpretations.

Well 莊子 itself is famous being metaphorical that no one would know what it actually means and what was the intention of the author. There are many words which are still used in general life, 莫逆 is one of them. 莊子 contains legends and fairytales of the old china, the book is not that difficult to read but the meaning cab be very philosophical. Poeple say 莊子(Zhuang zi) was a disciple of 孔子(Confucius), I have my timid suspicion about that.

Anyway, 容雀(Long que) was a very close friend of 秦懷章(Qín huái zhāng). Well I wouldn't know their actual story but it seems how Long que has met his wife through Qin huaizhang. 太師父 to grand master is just so hilarious suddenly all nuance became star wars. 🥲

I'm guessing that Zhou zishu being a noble, He must had read 十三經 or at least 四書; 論語 孟子 大學 中庸. Then why is he keep quoting from other than those? Did he like to read? Or is that the influence from Qin huaizhang? ༼༎ຶ෴༎ຶ༽ Is it only me? Zhou zishu clothes look like Max Mara.