This imagery of the Peng bird and the three small creatures illustrate Zhuang Zi’s belief that all perspectives are equal. The Peng bird and the three small creatures clearly have vastly different abilities in terms of flying. The Peng bird, grand in size, can fly far distances while the cicada, dove, and quail are small and are very limited in where they can fly. However, Zhuang Zi never states that the way the Peng bird flies is the way flying should be standardized to. Furthermore, when the three creatures are talking amongst themselves, they portray a very confident attitude. They “laugh” (Chapter 1) at the Peng bird’s great ability, and even ridicules it, deeming the Peng bird’s ability unnecessary. This confirms the idea that there are different perspectives and standards one abides by; in this case, the small creatures believe that what they are capable of was enough, and that the Peng bird’s ability was not needed in their lives. Through this situation, Zhuang Zi demonstrates that there is no absolute truth, as nature has set different paths for each creature. The Peng bird is abled with its vast capability, but it does not mean that the capabilities of the small flying creatures are invalid. The cicada, dove, and quail are created differently by nature, and are able to find their own unique happinesses with what nature has allowed them to be. In sum, although the Peng bird relatively seems to be able to have greater capabilities, Zhuang Zi argues through the perspectives of the small creatures to underscore that their view of the world is just as valid, and are equal in value as that of the Peng bird.
Chapter 1 establishes a foundation for Zhuang Zi’s promotion of becoming one with “the Great Way” – to know one’s place in nature. In Chapter 17, Zhuang Zi illustrates that once one realizes its place in nature, then it is able to take the next step into understanding and becoming one with “the Great Way”. In this chapter, there is an autumn flood, and the Yellow River immensely floods. Observing this, the Lord of the River is ecstatic and thinks that “the beauty in the world belonged to him alone” (Chapter 17). However, when the flood reached the North Sea, the Lord of the River realized that he was insignificant in terms of greatness compared to the North Sea. The North Sea then responds to the Lord of the River by saying “… realize your own pettiness. From now on it will be possible to talk to you about the Great Way” (Chapter 17). The North Sea is personified as a figure who seems to understand the Great Way. He holds an extremely humble stance on his vastness as he compares himself to a “little stone” (Chapter 17) or a “a little tree [sitting] on a huge mountain” (Chapter 17). The North Sea furthers by saying that “There is no end to the weighing of things, no stop to time, no constancy…, no fixed rule to beginning and end” (Chapter 17). In other words, the North Sea explains to the Lord of the River that judgment is relative, and that one needs to go through a re-evaluation of his values in order to follow “the Great Way”.
Once again, Zhuang Zi uses the concepts of big and small to explain the relativity of our humanly standards. To the Lord of the River, he himself was the greatest thing he knew of; however, when he reached the North Sea, he realized that he was small. And upon speaking to the North Sea, we are able to notice that the North Sea believes that he himself is small compared to the universe. Zhuang Zi persistently uses the concepts of big and small to explain that human standards are relative. However, in Chapter 17, unlike Chapter 1, Zhuang Zi further explains his stance by saying that one must recognize its place in nature in order to follow “the Great Way”. The Lord of the River, after talking to the North Sea, understand that he needs to be happy with what nature has made him to be. The Lord of the River then asks “what should I do and what should I not do?” (Chapter 17). The North Sea then replies with many answers, which sums up to simply following the course of the spontaneity of nature. This personification of the bodies of water shown in Chapter 17 strengthens the relativism of the values perceived by each being. In every single situation, one’s perception and understanding of the values are all valid, however, is limited to that specific context. Therefore, Zhuang Zi asserts that there can be no universal standard that everyone can understand. And because one’s perception of the world is so limited, one is incapable of truly understanding the absolute biggest and smallest. Therefore, because we are unable to understand, the only solution is to follow “the Great Way”, which is to let everything seek and pursue the spontaneity of nature, which is Dao.
Zhuang Zi’s use of the Peng bird and the autumn flood portrays that there are different interpretations of what is big and small, which means that there will inevitably be a different understanding of what is right or wrong, and so on. This relativism limits our knowledge greatly, which allows for the existence of prejudice and arguments – we do not understand each other due to the differences in our perspectives. Therefore, that is why Zhuang Zi argues that we need to come in terms with the notion that there will always be more unknown than there is known. Furthermore, he explains that we will never understand the absolute big and small; He writes “…How do we know that the tip of hair can be singled out as the masure of the smallest thing possible? … How do we know that heaven and earth can fully encompass the dimension of the largest thing possible?” (Chapter 17), emphasizing that our knowledge is finite, and that we need to accept this realization. Zhuang Zi strategically uses the juxtaposition of big and small through the Peng bird and the autumn flood to emphasize the relativity of our standards and values, and gives us a solution: to pursue “the Great Way”, the spontaneity of nature, or Dao.