During the Warring States period, there was an experience exchange meeting recorded in history in Daliang (now Kaifeng), the capital of the state of Wei.
Paoding is a chef in charge of slaughtering cattle in the palace kitchen of the state of Wei. It is said that his skill of slaughtering cattle is superb, like an art performance, and King Liang Hui is interested. Seeing is believing, Liang Huiwang asked someone to invite the cook to the front desk after finishing his official duties.
The cook came, gave a big gift to Liang Huiwang, who was full of stars and the moon, and then walked to the side of the stage with a sad look in his eyes. The cow saw the cold glittering knife in the cook’s hand and looked up with a “moo”.
The cook was calm, his left arm drew a beautiful arc in the air, and his right hand touched the blade of the cow. Shoulder gently against the back crotch of the cow, a lunge cook and the cow stick together, hands up and down, no one can see how the knife cuts into the cow’s body. The sound of “brush brush brush” and “Hua Hua” sounded in Liang Huiwang’s ear. The music was generally rhythmic. Looking at the cook’s wrist shaking, with the pace of movement, hip-hop dancing was generally changeable, flexible and powerful.
Liang Huiwang couldn’t help but get up and applaud, “you are simply a genius. How can you be so skilled?” The cook finished, wiped the blood on the knife, gave a big gift to Wang, and then got up and slowly told the process of his growth.
“I love doing everything. I like killing cattle very much. It’s not enough to just like it. I have to study hard, practice bravely, and ask old comrades for advice with an open mind. What I first saw was the whole cow, and I don’t know how to start. Three years later, my eyes had penetration, and I saw the physiological structure and bone vein of the cow. When I cut, I pointed at these joint meridians, which saved a lot of time and minimized the pain of the cow. Mediocre The chef changes a knife every month, and they are chopping indiscriminately; Good chefs change a knife every year. They avoid bones and cut beef. Does your majesty know how long I have used this knife? “
The cook was sold for a while. Liang Huiwang opened his curious eyes. “My knife has been used for 19 years. You see, it’s still like a new one. Because I only let it swim between the cow’s joints and meridians, avoiding hard bones, and the knife can easily navigate in the cow’s spiral joints. Three hundred and sixty lines, each line produces a champion. It’s no exaggeration to say that I’m the champion of solving cattle. Whenever I finish solving a cow, I see them exhausted like mud, and pride and self-confidence arise spontaneously, which is called complacency.”
Don’t underestimate chefs. From practice to theory, they are real artists. In the introduction of paoding’s advanced experience, two idioms “with ease” and “complacent”.
Liang Huiwang nodded frequently, felt enlightened, and drew inferences from one instance: “thank you! Your words let me know a truth. If you want to live a long life, you must conform to nature and let nature take its course.”
Opportunities always favor those who are prepared. Because of their superb skills, they can be extended as experience exchange, so they can be complacent. “Paoding jieniu” is an allegorical story, “with ease”, “complacent” comes from this story, and the copyright belongs to Zhuang Zi, a famous philosopher and writer in the Warring States period.