"Once, there was a king of the Song Kingdom who went hunting." In response to the Sage Master's question, Zhang Yang began with a story. "During the hunt, he lost his bow and wanted to find it again.
An attendant said: 'A Song man lost it, and a Song man will pick it up. No matter.'
So the king stopped looking for it.
When a benevolent man heard of this, he said: 'That is wrong. A man lost it, and a man picked it up—why specify a Song man?'
When a virtuous man heard of this, he said: 'That is wrong. Lost it, picked it up—why specify a man?'
When a wise man heard of this, he said: 'That is wrong. All things are mere forms and appearances. Where could there be gain or loss?'"
He retold the debate between Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism over the Song man losing his bow, but in a different form suited to this new world.
"What do you think, fellow Daoist? Of the three statements, who was right and who was wrong? Who stood higher and who lower?" Zhang Yang asked in return.
The Sage Master sank into thought.
"All three were right!" Zhang Yang continued. "In my humble view, even the king and his attendant were not wrong.
The king began from the perspective of property. Having lost his property, he wanted to recover it. That was human nature.
The attendant, meanwhile, began from the perspective of the Song Kingdom. He believed a Song man would pick up the bow; since it remained within the Song Kingdom, there was no need to retrieve it.
The benevolent man, the virtuous man, and the wise man who came afterward each had their own starting point as well.
'Man,' 'gain and loss,' and 'emptiness and form'