Qian Mu reads Zhuangzi: Regarding, 'there has not yet begun to be a "there has not yet begun to be nothing"

To advance our understanding of both the Book of Zhuangzi (c. fourth to third century BCE) and Qian Mu (1895-1990)'s Zhuangzi studies, I aim to squarely face one of the more obscure passages in the former with recourse to an explanation from the latter. The passage in question is that from the second chapter beginning with the claim 'there is a beginning' and culminating with the claim that 'there has not yet begun to be a "there has not yet begun to be nothing"'. I hope to show that Qian offers a compelling and novel interpretation of this difficult passage worthy of our consideration.