〖The Penumbras and the Shadow〗

The penumbras asked the shadow：“A moment ago you were looking down and now you are looking up;a moment ago your hair was tied up and now it is hanging loose;a moment ago you were sitting and now you are standing;a moment ago you were walking and now you are standing still.What the reason behind all this?”

〖罔两问影〗

虚影问影子说：“你先前低着头现在仰起头，先前束着发髻现在披着头发，先前坐着现在站起，先前行走现在停下来，这是什么原因呢?”

The shadow said，“Gentlemen，why do you bother asking me such trifling questions? I do these things but I don't know why.Am I like the shell of a cicada or am I like the slough of a snake? I look like the real thing，but I am not the real thing.I appear with the flame or the sun，but fade with the shade or the night.

影子同答：“你为什么拿这样微不足道的事情烦我呢?我就是这样地随意运动，我自己也不知道为什么会是这样。我，就如同寒蝉蜕下来的壳、蛇蜕下来的皮，跟那本体事物相似却又不是那事物本身。火光与阳光使我显现，阴暗与黑夜使我隐形。

Do I depend on the real thing? While the real thing itself has to depend on something else! When the real thing comes，I come with it; when the real thing goes， I go with it; when the real thing moves away，I move away with it. What is there to ask about?”

我依赖有形的事物吗?而有形的事物又依赖什么呢?有形的物体到来我便随之而来，有形的物体离去我也随之而去，有形的物体俳徊不定我就随之不停地运动。这有什么可问的呢?"