This passage in Zhuangzi reminds me of the famous “Madman” passage in The Gay Science by Nietzsche.  An individual, deranged by conventional standards, presents himself in a town square.  He insistently, pointedly passes judgment upon the optimism of his countrymen; that the future will, as a matter of course, be the present extended, —  only better, a lot better. The cornerstone for the entire community is unbreakable.  Nietzsche’s mad man smashes his lantern into the cobblestone in the dim light of dawn and declares that God is dead.  The veneration of traditional Christian piety, that the Titans of the Industrial Age (the extraction of value they stand for) are blessed by God, is extinguished, by a ritual destruction of a lantern.

Here is Zhuang Zhou’s version of “the Madman.”

…the madman of Ku,
as he was wandering about, passed by his door, and said,

‘O Phoenix, O Phoenix, how is your virtue degenerated!
The future is not to be waited for;
the past is not to be sought again!

When good order prevails in the world,
the sage tries to accomplish all his service;
when disorder prevails, he may preserve his life;
at the present time, it is enough if he simply escape being punished.

Happiness is lighter than a feather, but no one knows how to support it;
calamity is heavier than the earth, and yet no one knows how to avoid it.

I avoid publicity, I avoid publicity, that my path may not be injured.
I pursue my course, now going backwards, now crookedly, that my feet may not be hurt…

All men know the advantage of being useful, but no one knows
the advantage
of being useless.

–Zhuangzi, Man in the World, Associated with other Men, trans. by James Legge

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What do you think?

Is this not a critique of our Instagram soaked, publicity voracious society?