"In the Northern Ocean there is a fish, the name of which is Kun - I do not know how many li in size. It changes into a bird with the name of Peng, the back of which is (also) - I do not know how many li in extent. When this bird rouses itself and flies, its wings are like clouds all round the sky. When the sea is moved (so as to bear it along), it prepares to remove to the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is the Pool of Heaven."
"In the northern ocean there is a fish, called the k'un, I do not know how many thousand li in size. This k'un changes into a bird, called the p'eng. Its back is I do not know how many thousand li in breadth. When it is moved, it flies, its wings obscuring the sky like clouds. When on a voyage, this bird prepares to start for the Southern Ocean, the Celestial Lake."
"In the Northern Ocean, there is a fish, by the name of kun, which is many thousand li in size. This fish metamorphoses into a bird by the name of peng, whose back is many thousand li in breadth. When the bird rouses itself and flies, its wings obscure the sky like clouds. When this bird moves itself in the sea, it is preparing to start for the Southern Ocean, the Celestial Lake."
"The peng cannot move itself, unless in the ocean. The air cannot bear its wings, unless it reaches to a height of ninety thousand li. The peng is not doing so for the sake of curiosity. It does so, simply because large things must live in a large place; and in a large place, large things must be produced. Reason is naturally so. There is no mistake to fear; there is no room for conscious purpose.—Kuo Hsiang."
"In the northern darkness there is a fish and his name is Kun. The Kun is so huge I don't know how many thousand li he measures. He changes and becomes a bird whose name is Peng. The back of the Peng measures I don't know how many thousand li across, and when he rises up and flies off, his wings are like clouds all over the sky. When the sea begins to move, this bird sets off for the southern darkness, which is the Lake of Heaven."
"Im baumlosen Norden ist ein abgrundtiefes Meer: der Himmelssee. Dort lebt ein Fisch, der ist wohl tausend Meilen breit, und niemand weiß, wie lang er ist. Er heißt Leviathan. Dort ist auch ein Vogel. Er heißt der Rokh. Sein Rücken gleicht dem Großen Berge; seine Flügel gleichen vom Himmel herabhängenden Wolken. Im Wirbelsturm steigt er kreisend empor, viel tausend Meilen weit bis dahin, wo Wolken und Luft zu Ende sind und er nur noch den schwarzblauen Himmel über sich hat. Dann macht er sich auf nach Süden und fliegt nach dem südlichen Ozean."
"夫莊子之大意，在乎逍遙遊放，無為而自得，故極小大之致以明性分之適。"
"達觀之士，宜要其會歸而遺其所寄，不足事事曲與生說。自不害其弘旨，皆可略之耳。"
"The general idea of Chuang Tzu is to show the happy excursion, the indulgence in the way of nonaction and self-enjoyment. He, therefore, told the story of the extremely great and the extremely small, in order to illustrate the fitness of the nature of things.—Kuo Hsiang. (Feng Youlan)"
"夫四序風馳，三光電卷，是以負山岳而捨故，揚舟壑以趨新。故化魚為鳥，欲明變化之大理也。"
"溟，猶海也，取其溟漠無涯，故謂之溟。東方朔十洲記云：溟海無風而洪波百丈。巨海之內，有此大魚，欲明物性自然，故標為章首。"
"玄中記云：東方有大魚焉，行者一日過魚頭，七日過魚尾；產三日，碧海為之變紅。故知大物生於大處，豈獨北溟而已。"
"魚論其大，以表頭尾難知；鳥言其背，亦示修短叵測。故下文云未有知其修者也。"
"鼓怒翅翼，奮迅毛衣，既欲摶風，方將擊水。遂乃斷絕雲氣，背負青天，騫翥翱翔，淩摩霄漢，垂陰布影，若天涯之降行雲也。"
"此鵬鳥，其形重大，若不海中運轉，無以自致高昇，皆不得不然，非樂然也。"
"且形既遷革，情亦隨變。昔日為魚，涵泳北海；今時作鳥，騰翥南溟；雖復昇沈性殊，逍遙一也。"
"亦猶死生聚散，所遇斯適，千變萬化，未始非吾。"
"所以化魚為鳥，自北徂南者，鳥是淩虛之物，南即啟明之方；魚乃滯溺之蟲，北蓋幽冥之地；欲表向明背暗，捨滯求進，故舉南北鳥魚以示為道之逕耳。"
"而大海洪川，原夫造化，非人所作，故曰天池也。"
"逍遙遊者，篇名，義取閒放不拘，怡適自得。"
"《逍》音銷，亦作消。《遙》如字。亦作搖。《遊》如字。亦作游。"
"劉義慶世說新語文學類云：莊子逍遙篇，舊是難處；諸名賢所可鑽味，而不能拔理於郭向之外。支道林在白馬寺中，將馮太常共語，因及逍遙。支卓然標新理於二家之表，立異義於眾賢之外，皆是諸名賢尋味之所不得，後遂用支理。"
"劉孝標注云：向子期、郭子玄逍遙義曰：「夫大鵬之上九萬，尺鷃之起榆枋，小大雖差，各任其性，苟當其分，逍遙一也。然物之芸芸，同資有待，得其所待，然後逍遙耳。唯聖人與物冥而循大變，為能無待而常通。豈獨自通而已！又從有待者不失其所待，不失則同於大通矣。」"
"支氏逍遙論曰：「夫逍遙者，明至人之心也。莊生建言大道，而寄指鵬鷃。鵬以營生之路曠，故失適於體外；鷃以在近而笑遠，有矜伐於心內。至人乘天正而高興，遊無窮於放浪。物物而不物於物，則遙然不我得；玄感不為，不疾而速，則逍然靡不適。此所以為逍遙也。若夫有欲當其所足，足於所足，快然有似天真，猶饑者一飽，渴者一盈，豈忘烝嘗於糗糧，絕觴爵於醪醴哉！苟非至足，豈所以逍遙乎！」此向郭之注所未盡。"
"逍遙二字，說文不收，作消搖者是也。"
"唐釋湛然止觀輔行傳弘決引王瞀夜云：消搖者，調暢逸豫之意。夫至理內足，無時不適；止懷應物，何往不通。以斯而遊天下，故曰消搖。"
"又曰：理無幽隱，消然而當，形無鉅細，搖然而通，故曰消搖。解消搖義，視諸儒為長。"
"家世父侍郎公曰：天下篇莊子自言其道術充實不可以已，上與造物者遊。首篇曰逍遙遊者，莊子用其無端崖之詞以自喻也。注謂小大雖殊，逍遙一也，似失莊子之恉。"