During the Warring States period, the Taoist philosopher Zhuangzi was renowned for his profound understanding of the Way. One day, a man named Dongguozi, having heard of Zhuangzi's expertise, paid him a visit to seek his wisdom. Dongguozi asked, "Master, where exactly does this thing you call the Way exist?" Zhuangzi replied, "It is everywhere." Pressing further, Dongguozi said, "Can you be more specific?" Zhuangzi answered, "It is in the ant." Surprised, Dongguozi said, "That lowly?" Zhuangzi continued, "It is in the weed." Dongguozi exclaimed, "Even lower!" Zhuangzi added, "It is in the broken tile." Dongguozi was shocked, "How can that be?" Finally, Zhuangzi said, "It is in the dung and urine." At this, Dongguozi fell silent, realizing that the Way permeates all things, no matter how humble. This story illustrates that true wisdom is found not in lofty ideals but in the everyday and the mundane.
When Dongguozi met Zhuangzi, he asked, "Where exactly is your so-called Way?" Zhuangzi replied, "The Way is everywhere, in all places." Pressing further, Dongguozi said, "Please point to a specific place so I can understand." "The Way is in an anthill," Zhuangzi answered. Startled, Dongguozi exclaimed, "How can something so noble exist in such a lowly place?" Zhuangzi continued, "The Way is in barnyard grass." "Even lower!" Dongguozi gasped. "The Way is in tiles and bricks." "It keeps sinking lower!" "And in urine and excrement."
Dongguozi saw that Zhuangzi's explanations were becoming increasingly absurd, so he stopped asking questions, a displeased expression appearing on his face. Only then did Zhuangzi seriously explain:
A disciple asked, "Your teachings seem so lowly—how can they reveal the Way?" The master replied, "By making the Way humble, I show it is everywhere, in all things. Let me explain with the method of testing a pig's fatness. A man named Huo once asked a market inspector, 'Why does stepping on a pig's lower leg—its shank—best reveal its fatness?' The inspector answered, 'Because the shank is the hardest part to fatten. This is called 'the lower, the more evident.' The harder a place is to fatten, the clearer the fatness shows.'"
Dongguozi finally understood.
The idiom "Getting Worse and Worse" originally meant that the more one examines lowly things, the more one can infer the true nature of the Way and see the reality of things. Later, it came to describe a situation that is steadily deteriorating.
Source: *Zhuangzi*, "The Northern Journey of Knowledge"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "每况愈下" came to describe a situation that is steadily deteriorating.