[1] Huizi's opening question here may refer specifically to 5.05 or he may be asking in general about Zhuangzi's invisible sage; whether it is possible for people to have no qualities. 情 qíng, translated here as "essence," has many meanings. It can mean the facts of the matter; for instance, Zigao used it in 4:03 to refer to the details of his assignment. In Mohist logic, it means the defining characteristics of a thing. In later usage, it will come to mean feelings or passions. Understanding this passage requires following these shifting meanings.
[2] Huizi is probably invoking the logical meaning of the term here: If they don't meet the defining characteristics of people, how can you call them people? He may also be drawing on the other meanings: If there is no fact of the matter here and/or if they have no feelings, are they still human?
[3] Here Huizi is insisting on the logical meaning: If you call them people, how can they not meet the defining characteristics?
[4] Despite Graham's claim that 情 qíng never means "passions" in pre-Han literature (Graham, 57), Zhuangzi's definition of it here as 是非, 好惡, rights and wrongs, goods and bads, comes pretty close. Preferences? Values? Truths?
[5] What exactly is Huizi asking here? 益 yì means to benefit or add to. The phrase translated "exist" is literally "have a body."
[6] Zhuangzi made fun of Huizi for leaning on his desk in 2:07, as well. How are we to interpret this as a conversation between Zhuangzi and his friend, especially if as has been suggested, Huizi is one of his prime audiences. Does Zhuangzi simply change the subject at the end in order to take a cheap shot at his friend? Remember, Huizi's goal is to prove the truth through logical argument. Perhaps Zhuangzi's point here is similar to what he said elsewhere, that whether or not I manage to find the self (2:03), the unity of things (2:06), or here the human essence, it makes no difference as to its truth. He may be encouraging Huizi to rely on the truth without trying to know or prove it.