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其寐也魂交， qí mèi yĕ hún
jiāo
其覺也形開。
qí jué yĕ xíng kāi
The meaning of this
verse is hard to interpret. One puzzle is that, while 寐 mèi in the first line definitely
refers to deep sleep, the corresponding character in the second
line 覺, can mean either "awake" when
pronounced jué or to sleep lightly when pronounced jiào. The
first reading is seems intended in order for the contrast to be clear. It is
troubling, but characteristic of Zhuangzi to leave us wondering what we think
of as wakefulness is really the opposite of sleep or just a different version
of the same thing. Also, how do these lines connect to what came
before?
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