The Zhuangzi tells of a huge, crooked tree whose wood is good for nothing, so that no one cuts it and it lives out its years. Everyone knows the use of the useful, it says, but no one the use of the useless. The theme challenges conventional measures of value.
Usefulness of the useless
The Zhuangzi’s teaching that what seems useless may flourish, like the gnarled tree no carpenter cuts.