逍遥游/A Happy Excursion
Script by Zhuang Zi
Animated by me
“A Happy Excursion” is a philosophical essay by the ancient Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zi, also known as Zhuang Zhou. His other texts, such as “Dream of a Butterfly”, are representations of the core idea of Daoism. His essays usually discuss naturalism, freedom, and enlightenment. In “A Happy Excursion”, Zhuang Zi signifies the importance of focusing on ourselves instead of paying attention to others’ comments. A bug cannot understand the life of a godly fish creature, Kun, and Kun would not care a bug’s mocking. On the other hand, even godly creatures like Kun and Peng must rely on the current and the wind to travel. Thus, to reach true freedom and retain an ideal personality, we must not rely on material things.
One of the reasons I am interested in turning this essay into animation is the vivid description of the creatures in this piece. Kun and Peng are the same creature, yet one is a fish and one is a bird. The difference between these gigantic fantasy creatures and the tiny cicada and bird creates an interesting contrast. Moreover, another question to think about in today’s society is how we can achieve true freedom. Zhuang Zi proposes his definition of true freedom, which is to reduce our desire for physical material and focus on connecting our inner world to nature. Yet we seem to walk further away from the path of nature. Capitalism is built upon material desire. We stay on the internet all the time, hoping to satiate what makes us empty on the inside. What should be our definition of true freedom? That is the question that I propose in my short animation.
Audio Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGF9yvZhGNk&list=PLgGVV9r8eQxq3QV2wp9LC92r5ukgbKQBZ&index=15
Rebecca Sheng 