There is Value in the Inexpressible: Learning Experientialism from Zhuangzi

The only thing I could boast about in my school studies was that in my second year of high school, I ranked 4th in the Obunsha National Mock Exam (Japanese History).
At the time,

"If it's just Japanese history, I could easily get into the University of Tokyo!"

I felt quite elated, thinking things like that.

This was the fruit of desperate memorization, but now, I feel it hasn't been directly useful.
At most, I've only been able to utilize that knowledge a little in social studies classes as a cram school instructor.

And what's more!

It seems the content being taught (historical interpretation) has changed significantly between then and now; for example,

Then: Let's build a good country (1192) - Kamakura Shogunate
Now: Let's build a good box (1185) - Kamakura Shogunate

What was all that desperate memorization for?

I find myself thinking.

My study of history was very shallow.

There is a story like this in the "Zhuangzi".

A "disrespectful" remark to a king who reads

Duke Huan of Qi was reading a book intently in his hall.
Below in the courtyard, a wheelwright named Lun Bian, who was carving a wheel, suddenly stopped his work and asked.

"Excuse me, but whose words are you reading, my lord?"
"The words of a sage," Duke Huan replied.
"Is that sage still alive?"
"No, he passed away long ago."

Then Lun Bian said with a scoff,
"Then what you are reading, my lord, is nothing but the 'dregs' (leftovers/scraps) of the ancients."

An angry king, a speaking craftsman

Naturally, Duke Huan was furious.
"For a mere craftsman to call my reading 'dregs.' If you cannot provide a convincing explanation, your life is forfeit."

Lun Bian remained calm and began to speak, using his own work as an example.

"I make a living by carving wheels. When I carve the hole for the axle, if I carve too much, it becomes loose and wobbly, and if I don't carve enough, it's too tight and won't fit. 'Not too loose, not too tight.' That exquisite balance can only be learned by hand and felt in the heart."

"The 'knack' slips through the net of words"

Lun Pian continues.

"This exquisite touch, what you might call the 'knack' of it, cannot be explained in words. That is why I cannot even teach the secret to my own son, and even now at seventy, I am still carving wheels myself.
Much less could the 'soul' of what the sages of old truly cherished ever be written down in words. That is why I said that the texts remaining today are nothing more than the 'dregs' of what they could not fully convey."

Duke Huan fell silent.

Language has its limits

This episode is by no means saying that reading is meaningless.

Knowing the limits of verbalization: Manuals and textbooks (words) are merely fragments of a map.

The importance of 'embodied knowledge': The sense that can only be gained by actually moving your hands and engaging in trial and error is the core of the work.

The answer lies within, not without: Simply tracing someone else's success formula might just be tracing their 'leftover dregs'.

There is value in experience

In this day and age, information is overflowing.
However, if you skip the process of 'learning with your hands and feeling with your heart' that Lun Pian speaks of, you will not acquire true skills.

It is very important to actually apply what you have learned through text, isn't it?
And I believe that understanding only deepens when you reflect on your experiences in words.
If I had visited the actual sites or touched original manuscripts, perhaps my knowledge of Japanese history could have become part of my own flesh and blood and been more useful in my life.

Since note is packed with the knowledge and wisdom of various creators, I would like to try putting them into practice as much as possible.
Though I can't quite keep up...