Zhuang Zi slept with a skull¹ as his pillow. In midnight, he dreamt that the skull old him how happy it was after death.

 

The skull said, "After death, there is no emperor or liege（臣民） any longer, and it saves you a lot of trouble. There is no hard work in summers and winters any longer. You are free and easy, and can live as long as the heaven and earth do, even if you were the emperor, your pleasure wouldn't exceed this," Zhuang Zi did not believe this and said he hoped that the skull could come to life again, and go back to his parents and wife and friends. 

 

The skull frowned melancholy²（忧郁的） and said, "How could I leave behind the imperially happy life here and go back to the painful life on earth?"

 

庄子枕着髑髅入眠，半夜梦见骷髅对自己讲述死后的快乐。

 

“人死后，上面没有君主，下面没有臣仆，少了不少麻烦，更没有春夏秋冬四时的种种劳苦，从容自在，并且能像天地那样长寿，即使身为帝王，快乐也不能超过这啊。”庄子不相信这些话，说希望他死而更生，回到他过去的父母妻子邻居和朋友身边去。

 

骷髅却忧愁地皱着眉头说：“我怎能抛弃帝王一般的快乐生活，再去忍受人世的艰难苦痛呢？”

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