Three in the Morning
Nothing changed, yet your mood did. Ever happen to you?
Original
勞神明為一而不知其同也，謂之朝三。何謂朝三？狙公賦芧，曰：「朝三而暮四。」眾狙皆怒。曰：「然則朝四而暮三。」眾狙皆悅。名實未虧而喜怒為用，亦因是也。是以聖人和之以是非而休乎天鈞，是之謂兩行。
In plain words
To wear out your mind trying to make things one, without seeing that they are already the same: this is called “three in the morning.” What is that? A monkey keeper handing out acorns said, “Three in the morning and four in the evening.” The monkeys were all furious. “Then four in the morning and three in the evening.” The monkeys were all delighted. Neither the name nor the substance had changed, yet joy and anger took turns, simply going along with them. So the sage harmonises right and wrong and rests in the balance of heaven. This is called “walking both roads.”
Key words
- 狙公jū gōngA monkey keeper.
- 名实míng shíName and substance. The label changed; the reality did not.
- 两行liǎng xíngLetting “right” and “wrong” run side by side without collision.
Reading it step by step
Today, calling someone “three in the morning, four in the evening” means they can't make up their mind. The original story carries a much deeper idea.
Let's take it in three steps.
First: do the maths. Three plus four is seven. Four plus three is seven. Not one acorn is missing. “Neither name nor substance had changed.” The only thing that changed was the monkeys' mood.
Second: who are the monkeys? Honestly, usually us. The same salary feels different paid at the start of the month or the end. The same news, worded differently, turns “rejected” into “not yet.” Or consider: some people succeed young, others bloom late. From a wider angle the totals may be about the same, so why ride such highs and lows over it?
Once our perception is off, desires multiply without end; we chase outside things and can't turn back, like racing our own shadow, a race no one wins. The monkeys' anger comes from how they see, not from what they get.
Third: the keeper is the wise one. He doesn't argue that three plus four equals four plus three. He goes along with them and changes the wording. The substance stays; everyone is content. This is “walking both roads”: right and wrong can run side by side without collision. The sage “rests in the balance of heaven.”
So today has two sides. When you're angry, first count whether the total actually changed. When someone else is angry, try the keeper's move: keep the substance, change the words to ones they can rest in.
Before you get angry, count whether the total changed.
Today's question
When were you recently like the monkeys: same substance, big swing in mood? From the keeper's side, how would you reword it?
Quick check
What is the original point of “three in the morning”?
Both add up to seven. Joy and suffering often come from how we see.
Go deeper
Want the full classroom? Here is the matching lecture from National Taiwan University OpenCourseWare (in Mandarin).
I · The Troubles of the World — First, see the trouble clearly