In the Zhou dynasty, there was a man surnamed Yin who had a large estate. The labourers in his employ toiled from dawn till dusk without rest. One elderly servant was utterly exhausted; whilst working during the day, he would groan and cry out, and at night he would fall into a deep, drowsy sleep, utterly worn out. His mind was dazed and scattered; every night he would dream that he had become the ruler of a kingdom, overseeing the affairs of state, feasting and revelling in the palaces and pavilions, doing whatever he pleased, and experiencing boundless joy. Upon waking, he would once again have to return to his gruelling labour. Some people, sympathising with his hardships, tried to comfort him, but the old servant replied: ‘A human life lasts no more than a hundred years, with day and night each taking up half. By day I am a servant, and it is a little hard; but by night I am a sovereign, and my joy is boundless—what, then, have I to complain about?”
As for the master surnamed Yin, he was constantly busy managing his household affairs, leaving him physically and mentally exhausted. At night, he would fall into a drowsy sleep, equally drained, and every night he would dream that he was a servant to others, running about doing all manner of chores; he had to endure being scolded, beaten and humiliated in every way. In his sleep, he would groan incessantly and talk in his sleep, only ceasing when he awoke at daybreak. Yin was deeply troubled by this and went to visit his friend to seek advice. His friend said, ‘Your status brings you honour, and you have more than enough wealth; you are already far ahead of others. Dreaming of being a servant at night is merely the natural cycle of toil and ease—it is simply the way of things. How could you possibly expect everything to go exactly as you wish, both whilst awake and in your dreams?” Yin then became somewhat lenient towards the old servant and also worried less about his own affairs; as a result, both his own troubles and those of the old servant gradually lessened.
Source: “Liezi: King Mu of Zhou”
#51 梦与觉
周朝有个姓尹的人，产业很大，他手下那些做劳力的人从早到晚劳动，不得休息。有个老仆人已经筋疲力尽了，他白天干活时呻吟呼叫，到了晚上就昏昏沉沉疲惫不堪地睡熟了。他的精神恍惚散乱，每天晚上都梦见自己当上了国君，总管国家大事，在宫殿楼台中游玩宴饮，想干什么就干什么，快乐无比。醒来之后，就又得去干苦役。有人同情他太辛苦，安慰他，老仆人却说：“人这一辈子，不过百年，白天黑夜各占一半。我白天做奴仆，苦是苦了点儿；可晚上当国君，则快乐无比，我还有什么好抱怨的呢？”
而那位姓尹的主人呢，每天忙忙碌碌经营家业，身心俱疲，晚上也同样累得昏昏沉沉就睡着了。他每晚都梦见自己给别人当奴仆，跑来跑去干活，什么事都得干；挨骂挨打、受尽侮辱，也全都得受着。睡梦中他不停地呻吟说梦话，直到天亮醒来才停止。他为此非常苦恼，就去拜访朋友请教。朋友说：“您的地位足以让您荣光，钱财也绰绰有余，已经远远超过别人了。夜里梦见做奴仆，不过是劳苦与安逸相互循环，这是常理罢了。您要想醒着和梦里都称心如意，那怎么可能呢？” 这个姓尹的人就对老仆人放宽了些，也减少了自己操心的事情，于是他和老仆人的毛病都慢慢减轻了一些。
出自：《列子 周穆王》