What does 物物而不物於物 mean?

In "Du's Handbook of Classical Chinese Grammar," I came across the following Chinese sentence and translation, minus the Korean pronunciation:

先(선)生(생)將(장)何(하)處(처)?

“Which position do you adopt, Master?”

The following is my more literal translation:

先(선)生(생)將(장)何(하)處(처)

Master (先生) desires (將) which (何) situation (處)?

Since a verb does not follow 將 (장), we can assume it is the main verb rather than the auxiliary verb "will." As a verb, 將 can mean "to take" and "to want" or "to desire." Here, 處 means 처지 (處地) in Korean.

To try to understand the context of the above sentence, I Googled it and found an interesting story and the perplexing Chinese sentence mentioned in the title of this post. I could not understand the sentence until I first translated the story, which, by the way, seems to be mistranslated by many people. Here is my translation of the story:

山(산)木(목)

“The Mountain (山) Tree (木)”

莊(장)子(자)行(행)於(어)山(산)中(중), 見(견)大(대)木(목), 枝(지)葉(엽)盛(성)茂(무)

Master Jang (Zhuangzi – 莊子) was walking (行) in the mountains (於山中) [and] saw (見) a large (大) tree (木) [with] branches (枝) [and] leaves (葉) [that] were thick (盛) [and] luxuriant (茂).

伐(벌)木(목)者(자)止(지)其(기)旁(방)而(이)不(불)取(취)也(야). 問(문)其(기)故(고)曰(왈), 無(무)所(소)可(가)用(용).

[A] woodcutter (伐木者) was stopped (止) [at] its (其) side (旁), but (而) was not (不) taking (取) [it]. [When] asked (問) the (其) reason (故), [he] said (曰), “There is no (無) place (所) [it] can (可) be used (用).

莊(장)子(자)曰(왈), 此(차)木(목)以(이)不(불)材(재)得(득)終(종)其(기)天(천)年(년)

Master Jang (莊子) said (曰), “This (此) tree (木) is considered (以) useless (不材) [and] gets (得) to finish (終) its (其) natural life span (天年).

夫(부)子(자)出(출)於(어)山(산), 舍(사)於(어)故(고)人(인)之(지)家(가).

The Master (夫子) came out (出) from (於) the mountains (山) [and] rested (舍) at (於) the home of an old friend (故人之家).

故(고)人(인)喜(희), 命(명)豎(수)子(자)殺(살)雁(안)而(이)烹(팽)之(지).

The old friend (故人) was happy (喜) [and] ordered (命) the servant boy (豎子) to kill (殺) a goose (雁) and (而) cook (烹) it (之).

豎(수)子(자)請(청)曰(왈), 其(기)一(일)能(능)鳴(명), 其(기)一(일)不(불)能(능)鳴(명), 請(청)奚(해)殺(살)?

The servant boy (豎子) asked (請), saying (曰), “The (其) one (一) that can (能) honk (鳴) [or] the (其) one (一) that cannot (不可) honk (鳴)?” requesting (請) which (奚) to kill (殺).

主(주)人(인)曰(왈), 殺(살)不(불)能(능)鳴(명)者(자).

The host (主人) said (曰), “Kill (殺) the one that cannot honk (不能鳴者).

明(명)曰(왈), 弟(제)子(자)問(문)於(어)莊(장)子(자)曰(왈), 昨(작)日(일)山(산)中(중)之(지)木(목)以(이)不(불)材(재)得(득)終(종)其(기)天(천)年(년), 今(금)主(주)人(인)之(지)雁(안)以(이)不(불)材(재)死(사). 先(선)生(생)將(장)何(하)處(처)?

The next day (明日) a disciple (弟子) asks (問) to (於) Master Jang (莊子), saying (曰), “Yesterday (昨日) the tree in the mountains (山中之木) was considered (以) useless (不材) [and] got (得) to finish (終) its (其) natural life span (天年). Now (今) the goose of the host (主人之雁) is considered (以) useless (不材) [and] dies (死). Master (先生) desires (將) which (何) situation (處)?

莊(장)子(자)笑(소)曰(왈), “周(주)將(장)處(처)乎(호)材(재)與(여)不(불)材(재)之(지)間(간).”

Master Jang (莊子) laughs (笑) [and] says (曰), “[I], Zhou (周), desire (將) a situation (處) in between being useful and being useless (乎材與不材之間).

若(약)夫(부)乘(승)道(도)德(덕)而(이)浮(부)游(유)則(즉)不(불)然(연).

“But if (若夫) [one] rides (乘) the roads (道) of morality (德) and (而), wanders (浮游); then (則) it would not be so (不然).”

無(무)譽(예)無(무)訾(자), 一(일)龍(용)一(일)蛇(사), 與(여)時(시)俱(구)化(화), 而(이)無(무)肯(긍)專(전)爲(위), 一(일)上(상)一(일)下(하), 以(이)和(화)爲(위)量(량), 浮(부)游(유)乎(호)萬(만)物(물)之(지)祖(조).

“Without (無) praise (譽), without (無) slander (訾); sometimes (一) a dragon (龍), sometimes (一) a snake (蛇), with (與) the times (時) together (俱) changing (化), but (而) unwilling (不肯) to focus on (專) being [something] (爲). Sometimes (一) increasing (上), sometimes (一) decreasing (下), using (以) harmony (和) as (爲) a measure (量) [and] wandering (浮游) more than (乎) the Road Gods of all living things (萬物之祖).

物(물)物(물)而(이)不(불)物(물)於(어)物(물), 則(즉)胡(호)可(가)得(득)而(이)累(누)邪(야). 此(차)黃(황)帝(제), 神(신)農(농)之(지)法(법)則(칙)也(야).

[If you] observe (物) things (物), but (而) are not (不) observed (物) by (於) things (物), then (則) a long life (胡) can (可) be obtained (得) and (而) extended (累), right (邪)? This (此) is the law of the Yellow Emperor and the God of Farming (黃帝神農之法則也).

若(약)夫(부)萬(만)物(물)之(지)情(정), 人(인)倫(륜)之(지)傳(전), 則(즉)不(불)然(연).

If (若) [one] manages (夫) the circumstances of all living things (萬物之情) [and] the spread of morality (人倫之博), then (則) it would not be so (不然).

合(합)則(즉)離(이), 成(성)則(즉)毁(훼), 廉(염)則(즉)挫(좌), 尊(존)則(즉)議(의), 有爲則虧, 賢則謀, 不肖則欺, 胡可得而必乎哉?

[We] unite (合) then (則) separate (離); complete (成) then (則) destroy (毁); are sharp (廉) then (則) dull (挫); show respect (尊) then (則) find fault with (議); are talented (有爲) then (則) lacking (虧); are virtuous (賢) then (則) scheming (謀); are modest (不肖) then (則) a bully (欺). Long life (胡) can (可) be obtained (得), but (而) is it necessary (必乎哉)?

悲(비)夫(부)! 弟(제)子(자)志(지)之(지)! 其(기)唯(유)道(도)德(덕)之(지)鄕(향)乎(호)?

It’s sad (悲), indeed (夫)! Disciples (弟子), remember (志) them (之). They (其) alone (唯) [are] morality’s home (道德之鄕), yes or no (乎)?

The story comes from a text entitled "Zhuangzi (莊子), which means "Master Zhuang," or 장자 (莊子) in Korean. Zhuang Zhou (莊周 - 장주) was a Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th Century B.C.

If you Google other translations, you will probably find they are quite different from mine, but I like my translation. The translations I saw on the Internet seemed to have lost the theme of the story, which had to do will living a full life. I think one of the problems was that they did not translate 胡 (호) as "long life," causing awkward translations to follow. Also, they failed to translate 物 (물) as the verb "to look" or "to observe," causing more awkward translations. I am not 100% sure of my translation of the sentence in the title of this post, but, at least, it seems to make sense.