On Swimming
[Excerpts]
(June 20, 1955)

Source: “Mao zhuxi youyong de gushi” (Stories of Chairman Mao Swit
ming) in Tiyu bao (May 31, 1965). Other Chinese Text: Xin riyu, 3 (Feb. ©
1959), 3-4,

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APRIL - JUNE 1955 / 585

occasion on this day.

Whether the water is clean or muddy is not the main criterion for
determining whether or not the water is suitable for swimming, The point you
raise here does not merit concern, Did Zhuang Zi not say: “‘Unless water is
accumulated to a great depth it is powerless to carry big boats’"?'! The deeper
the water, the greater its buoyancy, and the more convenient it makes for
swimming. How can you say that it is not suitable [for swimming]? I need no
rest unless I am tired. I'll not board the boat until I get to my destination.

Note

1, This is a sentence from the book Zhuang Zi in the chapter “Xiao yao you" (On Free Roam-ing). The book is a collection of essays attributed for the most part to Zhuang Zhou, a philosopher
of the Warring States period (ca. fifth to third century B.C.),