The author considers this chapter a most important part of the Taoist classic , but one that has never been correctly understood . The article is divided into three sections . 　　Section 1 suggests that the chapter title "Yang Sheng Chu" may have a double meaning , i.e. , "Yang-sheng Chu"（Nourishing the Master of Life）. In the latter sense , the Master of life is the mine or the spirit . The author tries to prove with textual evidence that the title of the chapter and its main theme are derived from the ancient medical canon Huang-ti nei-ching（The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine）. The key principle , "Follow （yuan） the central controlling meridian （tu） as a constant rule（ching）" , proposed in the chapter owes its origin to terminology found in the Internal Medicine . So do a number of other elements in the chapter . 　　Section 2 deals with Chuang-tzu's way of reasoning or the development of his argument . Chuang-tzu started by saying (1) that life might be harmed by seeking knowledge , if knowledge was regarded as exhaustible ; and (2) that life might also be hurt if morality or immorality was sought without restraint . The article discusses in detail the bothersome statements in the chapter : "If one does good , one should not approach fame ; if one does evil , one should not approach punishment" . The author has found certain similar statements and ideas expressed in Kuan-tzu , Lieh-tzu , I-Ching , and The Ten Great Classics （circa 400 B.C.）, which was recently discovered in a tomb of the Han dynasty . The article particularly offers a substantial study and a new explanation of the statement concerning evil and punishment . 　　Section 3 provides a new analysis of the organization of the chapter . The allegory of Cook Ting's cutting up an ox serves , as all previous scholars have known , to illustrate the main principle of the chapter . But the present author suggests that it also serves to explain the first of the four purposes or results of caring for life , as listed in the opening paragraph of the chapter . The ensuing three allegories illustrate the other three purposes respectively . Thus the scheme is : 　　Yang Sheng Chu : Follow the Central Meridian--the allegory of Cook Tings cutting up an ox . 1. To preserve the body ─ the allegory of Cook Ting's cutting up an ox without damaging the knife. 2. To keep one's life as a whole ─ the allegory of Kung-wen Hsuan , the man who was born with one leg . 3. To sustain one's own life ─ the allegory of the pheasant , who prefers to make a hard living by itself in the swamp to being fed in a cage . 4. To live out one's years ─ the allegory of Lao Tan's death and the unceremonious mourning by his friend Ch'in Shih . 　　The article also points out that concerning the third purpose the Chinese character ch'in does not mean "parents' but "one's self." It also provides new evidence for deciding for deciding a reasonable interpretation of the last and most controversial passage of the chapter about the touch burning out of grease , an analogy which says the body may have died but the spirit and life（fire） are not known as ended. 　　In conclusion , the author thinks the chapter is not mutilated . Instead , it is perfectly organized and well composed . It proves to be a most Significant chapter which makes Chuang-tzu a major philosopher in ancient Chins , one who put greater emphasis on individual freedom than has been previously realized .