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119-462: In book 17 of the Zhuangzi , Gongsun speaks of himself: When young, I studied the way of the former kings. When I grew up, I understood the practice of kindness and duty. I united the same and different, separated hard from white, made so the not-so and admissible the inadmissible. I confounded the wits of the hundred schools and exhausted the eloquence of countless speakers. I took myself to have reached

238-504: A "classic" per se, due to its non-Confucian nature. Throughout Chinese history, the Zhuangzi remained the pre-eminent expression of core Taoist ideals. The 17th-century scholar Gu Yanwu lamented the flippant use of the Zhuangzi on the imperial examination essays as representing a decline in traditional morals at the end of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Jia Baoyu , the main protagonist of

357-472: A broader, more naturalistic, more metaphysical view on the relationship between humankind and the Universe and considered social rules to be at best a derivative reflection of the natural and spontaneous interactions between people and at worst calcified structure that inhibited naturalness and created conflict. This led to some philosophical and political conflicts between Taoists and Confucians. Several sections of

476-515: A bull, a tiger, and a dragon , was allowed to go to an afterlife that was known as "the place beyond the Tao". This shows that some Chinese folk storytelling and mythological traditions had very differing interpretations of the Tao between each other and orthodox religious practices. Noted Christian author C.S. Lewis used the word Tao to describe "the doctrine of objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false,

595-404: A distinct entity. As part of this process, many Chinese words introduced their rich semantic and philosophical associations into Buddhism, including the use of "Tao" for central concepts and tenets of Buddhism. Pai-chang Huai-hai told a student who was grappling with difficult portions of suttas , "Take up words in order to manifest meaning and you'll obtain 'meaning'. Cut off words and meaning

714-496: A fish; so the case is complete that you do not know that the fish are happy." 莊子曰：請循其本。子曰汝安知魚樂云者，既已知吾知之而問我，我知之濠上也。 Zhuangzi said, "Let's go back to the beginning of this. You said, How do you know that the fish are happy; but in asking me this, you already knew that I know it. I know it right here above the Hao." The precise point Zhuang Zhou intends to make in the debate is not entirely clear. The text appears to stress that "knowing"

833-429: A life energy instead of qi in some Taoist belief systems. De ( 德 ; 'power', 'virtue', 'integrity') is the term generally used to refer to proper adherence to the Tao. De is the active living or cultivation of the way. Particular things (things with names) that manifest from the Tao have their own inner nature that they follow in accordance with the Tao, and the following of this inner nature

952-399: A multitude of results. Buddhism and Confucianism particularly affected the way many sects of Taoism framed, approached, and perceived the Tao. The multitudinous branches of religious Taoism accordingly regard the Tao, and interpret writings about it, in innumerable ways. Thus, outside of a few broad similarities, it is difficult to provide an accurate yet clear summary of their interpretation of

1071-525: A place called Meng ( 蒙 ) in the historical state of Song , near present-day Shangqiu , Henan. His death is variously placed at 301, 295, or 286 BC. Zhuang Zhou is thought to have spent time in the southern state of Chu , as well as in the Qi capital of Linzi . Sima Qian included a biography of Zhuang Zhou in the Han-era Shiji ( c.  91 BC ), but it seems to have been sourced mostly from

1190-442: A serious logical discourse, by others as a facetious work of sophistry , and finally by some as a combination of the two. He was also responsible for several other essays ( 論 ; lùn ; 'discourses', 'dialogues'), as short as 300 characters . Zhuangzi (book) The Zhuangzi (historically romanized Chuang Tzŭ ) is an ancient Chinese text that is one of the foundational texts of Taoism , alongside

1309-602: A short period of time. Dhyana was translated as 禅 ; chán] , and later as "zen", giving Zen Buddhism its name. The use of Chinese concepts, such as the Tao, that were close to Buddhist ideas and terms helped spread the religion and make it more amenable to the Chinese people. However, the differences between the Sanskrit and Chinese terminology led to some initial misunderstandings and the eventual development of Buddhism in East Asia as

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1428-622: A thing is simply a state of mind: moreover, that it is not possible to determine whether "knowing" has any objective meaning. This sequence has been cited as an example of Zhuang Zhou's mastery of language, with reason subtly employed in order to make an anti-rationalist point. A passage in chapter 18 describes Zhuang Zhou's reaction following the death of his wife, expressing a view of death as something not to be feared. 莊子妻死，惠子弔之，莊子則方箕踞鼓盆而歌。惠子曰：與人居長子，老身死，不哭亦足矣，又鼓盆而歌，不亦甚乎。 Zhuangzi's wife died. When Huizi went to convey his condolences, he found Zhuangzi sitting with his legs sprawled out, pounding on

1547-458: A tub and singing. "You lived with her, she brought up your children and grew old," said Huizi. "It should be enough simply not to weep at her death. But pounding on a tub and singing—this is going too far, isn't it?" 莊子曰：不然。是其始死也，我獨何能無概然。察其始而本無生，非徒無生也，而本無形，非徒無形也，而本無氣。雜乎芒芴之間，變而有氣，氣變而有形，形變而有生，今又變而之死，是相與為春秋冬夏四時行也。 Zhuangzi said, "You're wrong. When she first died, do you think I didn't grieve like anyone else? But I looked back to her beginning and

1666-551: Is De . Wu wei , or 'naturalness', is contingent on understanding and conforming to this inner nature, which is interpreted variously from a personal, individual nature to a more generalized notion of human nature within the greater Universe. Historically, the concept of De differed significantly between Taoists and Confucianists. Confucianism was largely a moral system emphasizing the values of humaneness, righteousness, and filial duty, and so conceived De in terms of obedience to rigorously defined and codified social rules. Taoists took

1785-497: Is "eternally nameless" and should be distinguished from the countless named things that are considered to be its manifestations, the reality of life before its descriptions of it. The word "Tao" has a variety of meanings in both the ancient and modern Chinese language. Aside from its purely prosaic use meaning road, channel, path, principle, or similar, the word has acquired a variety of differing and often confusing metaphorical, philosophical, and religious uses. In most belief systems,

1904-494: Is a broad variety of distinct interpretations among sects and even individuals in the same sect. Despite this diversity, there are some clear, common patterns and trends in Taoism and its branches. The diversity of Taoist interpretations of the Tao can be seen across four texts representative of major streams of thought in Taoism. All four texts are used in modern Taoism with varying acceptance and emphasis among sects. The Tao Te Ching

2023-468: Is commonly used in this fashion by Chinese Buddhists, heavy with associations and nuanced meanings. During the Song dynasty , neo-Confucians regarded the Tao as the purest thing-in-itself . Shao Yong regarded the Tao as the origin of heaven, earth, and everything within them. In contrast, Zhang Zai presented a vitalistic Tao that was the fundamental component or effect of qi, the motive energy behind life and

2142-448: Is depicted in chapter 32, pointing to the body of lore that grew up around him in the decades following his death. It serves to embody and reaffirm the ideas attributed to Zhuang Zhou throughout the previous chapters. 莊子將死，弟子欲厚葬之。莊子曰：吾以天地為棺槨，以日月為連璧，星辰為珠璣，萬物為齎送。吾葬具豈不備邪。何以加此。 When Master Zhuang was about to die, his disciples wanted to give him a lavish funeral. Master Zhuang said: "I take heaven and earth as my inner and outer coffins,

2261-542: Is emptiness. Emptiness is the Tao. The Tao is cutting off words and speech." Zen Buddhists regard the Tao as synonymous with both the Buddhist Path and the results of it, the Noble Eightfold Path and Buddhist enlightenment . Pai-chang's statement plays upon this usage in the context of the fluid and varied Chinese usage of "Tao". Words and meanings are used to refer to rituals and practices. The "emptiness" refers to

2380-422: Is full of quirky and fantastic character archetypes, such as "Mad Stammerer", "Fancypants Scholar", "Sir Plow", and a man who fancies that his left arm will turn into a rooster, his right arm will turn into a crossbow, and his buttocks will become cartwheels. A master of language, Zhuang Zhou sometimes engages in logic and reasoning, but then turns it upside down or carries the arguments to absurdity to demonstrate

2499-489: Is highly polysemous: its historical alternate pronunciation as dǎo possessed an additional connotation of 'guide'. The history of the character includes details of orthography and semantics, as well as a possible Proto-Indo-European etymology, in addition to more recent loaning into English and other world languages. "Tao" is written with the Chinese character 道 using both traditional and simplified characters. The traditional graphical interpretation of 道 dates back to

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2618-508: Is not Y" (X非Y) can mean either The sentence "White horses are not horses" would normally be taken to assert the obviously false claim that white horses are not part of the group of horses. However, the "sophist" in the dialogue defends the statement under the interpretation, "Not all horses are white horses". The latter statement is actually true, since—as the "sophist" explains—"horses" includes horses that are white, yellow, brown, etc., while "white horses" includes only white horses, and excludes

2737-474: Is order [位 wei]. To be out of order is to fall into disorder. To remain in order is to be correct. What is correct is used to rectify what is incorrect. [What is incorrect is not used to] doubt what is correct. To rectify is to rectify actuality, and to rectify the name [ming] corresponding to it. In the White Horse Dialogue ( 白馬論 ; Báimǎ lùn ), one interlocutor (sometimes called the "sophist") defends

2856-546: Is represented by the Chinese character 道 , which has meanings including 'way', 'path', 'road', and sometimes 'doctrine' or 'principle'. In the Tao Te Ching , the semi-legendary ancient philosopher Laozi explains that the Tao is not a name for a thing, but the underlying natural order of the universe whose ultimate essence is difficult to circumscribe because it is non-conceptual yet evident in one's being of aliveness. The Tao

2975-524: Is supported by textual examples of the use of the primary tao in the verbal sense "to lead" (e. g., Analects 1.5; 2.8) and seriously undermines the unspoken assumption implied in the common translation of Tao as "way" that the concept is essentially a nominal one. Tao would seem, then, to be etymologically a more dynamic concept than we have made it translation-wise. It would be more appropriately rendered by "lead way" and "lode" ("way," "course," "journey," "leading," "guidance"; cf. "lodestone" and "lodestar"),

3094-513: Is the Taoist concept of de ('virtue'). In Confucianism and religious forms of Taoism, these are often explicitly moral/ethical arguments about proper behavior, while Buddhism and more philosophical forms of Taoism usually refer to the natural and mercurial outcomes of action (comparable to karma). The Tao is intrinsically related to the concepts of yin and yang , where every action creates counter-actions as unavoidable movements within manifestations of

3213-455: Is the fundamental and central concept of these schools of thought. Taoism perceives the Tao as a natural order underlying the substance and activity of the Universe. Language and the "naming" of the Tao is regarded negatively in Taoism; the Tao fundamentally exists and operates outside the realm of differentiation and linguistic constraints. There is no single orthodox Taoist view of the Tao. All forms of Taoism center around Tao and De, but there

3332-515: Is the oldest text and representative of a speculative and philosophical approach to the Tao. The Daotilun is an eighth century exegesis of the Tao Te Ching , written from a well-educated and religious viewpoint that represents the traditional, scholarly perspective. The devotional perspective of the Tao is expressed in the Qingjing Jing , a liturgical text that was originally composed during

3451-459: Is unclear whether Zhuang Zhou's positions amount to a form of anarchism . Western scholars have noted strong anti- rationalist themes present throughout the Zhuangzi . Whereas reason and logic as understood in Ancient Greek philosophy proved foundational to the entire Western tradition, Chinese philosophers often preferred to rely on moral persuasion and intuition. Throughout Chinese history,

3570-489: The Hanyu Da Zidian dictionary defines 39 meanings for 道 ; dào and 6 for 道 ; dǎo . John DeFrancis 's Chinese-English dictionary gives twelve meanings for 道 ; dào , three for 道 ; dǎo , and one for 道 ; dāo . Note that brackets clarify abbreviations and ellipsis marks omitted usage examples. dào 道 N. [ noun ] road; path ◆M. [nominal measure word ] ① (for rivers/topics/etc.) ② (for

3689-522: The Shuowen Jiezi dictionary published in 121 CE, which describes it as a rare "compound ideogram" or " ideographic compound ". According to the Shuowen Jiezi , 道 combines the 'go' radical 辶 (a variant of 辵 ) with 首 ; 'head'. This construction signified a "head going" or "leading the way". "Tao" is graphically distinguished between its earliest nominal meaning of 'way', 'road', 'path', and

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3808-528: The Tao Te Ching , Neiye , Wenzi and Liezi . It was written during the late Warring States period (476–221 BC) and is named for its traditional author, Zhuang Zhou , who is customarily known as "Zhuangzi" ("Master Zhuang"). The Zhuangzi consists of stories and maxims that exemplify the nature of the ideal Taoist sage. It contains numerous anecdotes, allegories, parables, and fables, often expressed with irreverence or humor. Recurring themes include embracing spontaneity and achieving freedom from

3927-512: The Han dynasty and is used as a hymnal in religious Taoism, especially among eremites . The Zhuangzi uses literary devices such as tales, allegories, and narratives to relate the Tao to the reader, illustrating a metaphorical method of viewing and expressing the Tao. The forms and variations of religious Taoism are incredibly diverse. They integrate a broad spectrum of academic, ritualistic, supernatural, devotional, literary, and folk practices with

4046-581: The Han dynasty , Ruan Ji and Tao Yuanming during the Six Dynasties , Li Bai during the Tang dynasty , to Su Shi and Lu You in the Song dynasty were "deeply imbued with the ideas and artistry of the Zhuangzi ". Traces of the Zhuangzi ' s influence in late Warring States period philosophical texts such as the Guanzi , Han Feizi , and Lüshi Chunqiu suggest that Zhuang Zhou's intellectual lineage

4165-457: The Jin-era scholar Guo Xiang (252–312), who reduced the text from an earlier form of 52 chapters. The first 7 of these, referred to as the 'inner chapters' ( 內篇 ; nèipiān ), were considered even before Guo to have been wholly authored by Zhuang Zhou himself. This attribution has been traditionally accepted since, and is still assumed by many modern scholars. The original authorship of

4284-804: The Muromachi period (1338–1573) is preserved in the Kōzan-ji temple in Kyoto ; it is considered one of Japan's national treasures. The manuscript has seven complete selections from the outer and miscellaneous chapters, and is believed to be a close copy of a 7th-century annotated edition written by the Chinese Taoist master Cheng Xuanying . Topics Neo Confucianism New Confucianism Topics The Zhuangzi consists of anecdotes , allegories , parables , and fables that are often humorous or irreverent in nature. Most of these are fairly short and simple, such as

4403-587: The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove —admired the work; an essay authored by Ruan entitled "Discourse on Summing Up the Zhuangzi " ( 達莊論 ; Dá Zhuāng lùn ) is still extant. The Zhuangzi has been called "the most important of all the Daoist writings", with the inner chapters embodying the core ideas of philosophical Taoism. During the 4th century AD, the Zhuangzi became a major source of imagery and terminology for

4522-543: The Shangqing School , a new form of Taoism that had become popular among the aristocracy of the Jin dynasty (266–420) . Shangqing School Taoism borrowed numerous terms from the Zhuangzi , such as "perfected man" ( 真人 ; zhēnrén ), "Great Clarity" ( 太清 ; Tài Qīng ), and "fasting the mind" ( 心齋 ; xīn zhāi ). While their use of these terms was distinct from that found in the Zhuangzi itself, their incidence still demonstrates

4641-669: The Shuanggudui site near Fuyang in Anhui , and the Mount Zhangjia site near Jingzhou in Hubei . The earlier Guodian Chu Slips —unearthed near Jingmen , Hubei, and dating to the Warring States period c.  300 BC —contain what appears to be a short fragment parallel to the "Ransacking Coffers" chapter ( 胠篋 , No.  10 of 33). The Dunhuang manuscripts , discovered during

4760-407: The Tao Te Ching and I Ching make pains to distinguish between conceptions of the Tao (sometimes referred to as "named Tao") and the Tao itself (the "unnamed Tao"), which cannot be expressed or understood in language. Liu Da asserts that the Tao is properly understood as an experiential and evolving concept and that there are not only cultural and religious differences in the interpretation of

4879-500: The Zhuangzi 's intellectual lineage had already been fairly influential in the states of Qi and Chu by the 3rd century BC. Sima Qian refers to the Zhuangzi as a 100,000-character work in the Shiji , and references several chapters present in the received text. Many scholars consider a Zhuangzi composed of 52 chapters, as attested by the Book of Han in 111 AD, to have been

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4998-479: The Zhuangzi by name, but cites it for one-sixth of the poem. The Six Dynasties period (AD 220–589) that followed the collapse of the Han dynasty saw Confucianism temporarily surpassed by a resurgence of interest in Taoism and old divination texts such as the I Ching , with many poets, artists, and calligraphers of this period drawing influence from the Zhuangzi . The poets Ruan Ji and Xi Kang —both members of

5117-410: The Zhuangzi generally pertain to what governments should not do, rather than what they should do or how they may be reformed. The text seems to oppose formal government, viewing it as fundamentally problematic due to "the opposition between man and nature". Zhuang Zhou attempts to illustrate that "as soon as government intervenes in natural affairs, it destroys all possibility of genuine happiness". It

5236-533: The Zhuangzi include a distrust of language and logic, an insistence that the "Way" can be found in everything, even dung and urine, and a fondness for dialogues based on koans . In 742, an imperial proclamation from Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ( r.  712–756 ) canonized the Zhuangzi as one of the Chinese classics , awarding it the honorific title 'True Scripture of Southern Florescence' ( 南華真經 ; Nánhuá zhēnjīng ). Nevertheless, most scholars throughout Chinese history did not consider it as being

5355-490: The Zhuangzi itself. The American sinologist Burton Watson concluded: "Whoever Zhuang Zhou was, the writings attributed to him bear the stamp of a brilliant and original mind". University of Sydney lecturer Esther Klein observes: "In the perception of the vast majority of readers, whoever authored the core Zhuangzi text was Master Zhuang." The only version of the Zhuangzi known to exist in its entirety consists of 33 chapters originally prepared around AD 300 by

5474-412: The Zhuangzi significantly informed skepticism towards rationalism. In the text, Zhuang Zhou frequently turns logical arguments upside-down in order to satirize and discredit them. However, according to Mair he does not abandon language and reason altogether, but "only wishe[s] to point out that over-dependence on them could limit the flexibility of thought". Confucius himself is a recurring character in

5593-559: The Zhuangzi —that is, waiting for nothing—is the only viable mindset for the German people in the wake of the failure of national socialism and Germany's comprehensive defeat. Tao The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion . This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. The concept

5712-632: The analogy with his painting Nine Dragons . Much of Taoist philosophy centers on the cyclical continuity of the natural world and its contrast to the linear, goal-oriented actions of human beings, as well as the perception that the Tao is "the source of all being, in which life and death are the same." In all its uses, the Tao is considered to have ineffable qualities that prevent it from being defined or expressed in words. It can, however, be known or experienced , and its principles (which can be discerned by observing nature) can be followed or practiced. Much of East Asian philosophical writing focuses on

5831-483: The 首 ; 'head' element as hair above a face. Some variants interchange the 'go' radical 辵 with 行 ; 'go', 'road', with the original bronze "crossroads" depiction written in the seal character with two 彳 and 亍 ; 'footprints'. Bronze scripts for 道 occasionally include an element of 手 ; 'hand' or 寸 ; 'thumb', 'hand', which occurs in 導 ; 'lead'. The linguist Peter A. Boodberg explained, This " tao with

5950-532: The "Way" ( Tao ). Though appreciation for the work often focuses on its philosophy, the Zhuangzi is also regarded as one of the greatest works of literature in the Classical Chinese canon. It has significantly influenced major Chinese writers and poets across more than two millennia, with the first attested commentary on the work written during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). It has been called "the most important pre- Qin text for

6069-461: The 18th and 19th centuries. Outside of East Asia, the Zhuangzi is not as popular as the Tao Te Ching and is rarely known by non-scholars. A number of prominent scholars have attempted to bring the Zhuangzi to wider attention among Western readers. In 1939, the British sinologist Arthur Waley described it as "one of the most entertaining as well as one of the profoundest books in the world". In

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6188-535: The Buddhist concept of sunyata . Finding the Tao and Buddha-nature is not simply a matter of formulations, but an active response to the Four Noble Truths that cannot be fully expressed or conveyed in words and concrete associations. The use of "Tao" in this context refers to the literal "way" of Buddhism, the return to the universal source, dharma , proper meditation, and nirvana , among other associations. "Tao"

6307-566: The Principle of Heaven in Neo-Confucianism. The Way is contained within all things. Thus, the religious life is not an elite or special journey for Neo-Confucians. The normal, mundane life is the path that leads to the Absolute, because the Absolute is contained within the mundane objects and events of daily life. Yayu, the son of Zhulong who was reincarnated on Earth as a violent hybrid between

6426-619: The Southern Seas was Lickety, the emperor of the Northern Sea was Split, and the emperor of the Center was Wonton. Lickety and Split often met each other in the land of Wonton, and Wonton treated them very well. Wanting to repay Wonton's kindness, Lickety and Split said, "All people have seven holes for seeing, hearing, eating, and breathing. Wonton alone lacks them. Let's try boring some holes for him." So every day they bored one hole [in him], and on

6545-403: The Tao but personal differences that reflect the character of individual practitioners. The Tao can be roughly thought of as the "flow of the universe", or as some essence or pattern behind the natural world that keeps the Universe balanced and ordered. It is related to qi , the essential energy of action and existence. The Tao is a non-dualistic principle—it is the greater whole from which all

6664-421: The Tao is the self grounded in its place within the natural Universe. A person dwelling within the Tao excels in themselves and their activities. However, this distinction is complicated by hermeneutic difficulties in the categorization of Taoist schools, sects, and movements. Some Taoists believe the Tao is an entity that can "take on human form" to perform its goals. The Tao represents human harmony with

6783-410: The Tao, "Dao is not religiously available; nor is it even religiously relevant." The writings of Laozi and Zhuangzi are tinged with esoteric tones and approach humanism and naturalism as paradoxes. In contrast to the esotericism typically found in religious systems, the Tao is not transcendent to the self, nor is mystical attainment an escape from the world in philosophical Taoism. The self steeped in

6902-415: The Tao, and proper practice variously involves accepting, conforming to, or working with these natural developments. In Taoism and Confucianism, the Tao was sometimes traditionally seen as a "transcendent power that blesses" that can "express itself directly" through various ways, but most often shows itself through the speech, movement, or traditional ritual of a "prophet, priest, or king." Tao can serve as

7021-413: The Tao. A central tenet in most varieties of religious Taoism is that the Tao is ever-present, but must be manifested, cultivated, and/or perfected to be realized. It is the source of the Universe, and the seed of its primordial purity resides in all things. Breathing exercises, according to some Taoists, allowed one to absorb "parts of the universe." Incense and certain minerals were seen as representing

7140-657: The Tao. Damascene published a full commented translation of the Tao Te Ching under the title Christ the Eternal Tao . In some Chinese translations of the New Testament, the word λόγος ( logos ) is translated as 道 , in passages such as John 1:1, indicating that the translators considered the concept of Tao to be somewhat equivalent to the Hellenic concept of logos in Platonism and Christianity. The Chinese character 道

7259-530: The Tao. Meanwhile, imperfect descriptions are ubiquitous throughout both texts. Of the texts written in China prior to its unification under the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, the Zhuangzi may have been the most influential on later literary works. For the period, it demonstrated an unparalleled creativity in its use of language. Virtually every major Chinese writer or poet in history, from Sima Xiangru and Sima Qian during

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7378-456: The Way illuminates virtue, improves the people, and resides within the purest morality. During the Tang dynasty , Han Yu further formalized and defined Confucian beliefs as an apologetic response to Buddhism. He emphasized the ethics of the Way. He explicitly paired "Tao" and "De", focusing on humane nature and righteousness. He also framed and elaborated on a "tradition of the Tao" in order to reject

7497-554: The Way of Man'. Chu Tao is 'the way to be a monarch', i.e. the art of ruling. Each school of philosophy has its tao , its doctrine of the way in which life should be ordered. Finally in a particular school of philosophy whose followers came to be called Taoists, tao meant 'the way the universe works'; and ultimately something very like God, in the more abstract and philosophical sense of that term. "Tao" gives Taoism its name in English, in both its philosophical and religious forms. The Tao

7616-417: The Way. Cheng Yi followed this interpretation, elaborating on this perspective of the Tao through teachings about interactions between yin and yang, the cultivation and preservation of life, and the axiom of a morally just universe. On the whole, the Tao is equated with totality. Wang Fuzhi expressed the Tao as the taiji , or 'great ultimate', as well as the road leading to it. Nothing exists apart from

7735-530: The attested length of the Han-era manuscript. While none are known to exist in full, versions of the text unaffected by both the Guo and Liu revisions survived into the Tang dynasty (618–907), with the existing fragments hinting at the folkloric nature of the material removed by Guo. Portions of the Zhuangzi have been found among the bamboo slip texts discovered in tombs dating to the early Han dynasty , particularly at

7854-526: The bridge over the Hao River. Zhuangzi said, "The minnows are darting about free and easy! This is how fish are happy." 惠子曰：子非魚，安知魚之樂。莊子曰：子非我，安知我不知魚之樂。 Huizi replied, "You are not a fish. How do you know that the fish are happy?" Zhuangzi said, "You are not I. How do you know that I do not know that the fish are happy?" 惠子曰：我非子，固不知子矣；子固非魚也，子之不知魚之樂全矣。 Huizi said, "I am not you, to be sure, so of course I don't know about you. But you obviously are not

7973-463: The classic 18th-century novel Dream of the Red Chamber , often turns to the Zhuangzi for comfort amid the strife in his personal and romantic relationships. The story of Zhuang Zhou drumming on a tub and singing after the death of his wife inspired an entire tradition of folk music in the central Chinese provinces of Hubei and Hunan called "funeral drumming" ( 喪鼓 ; sànggǔ ) that survived into

8092-1105: The common specifications 道 ; dào ; 'way' and 道 ; dǎo (with variant 導 ; 'guide'), 道 has a rare additional pronunciation with the level tone, dāo , seen in the regional chengyu 神神道道 ; shénshendāodāo ; 'odd', 'bizarre', a reduplication of 道 and 神 ; shén ; 'spirit', 'god' from northeast China. In Middle Chinese ( c.  6th–10th centuries CE ) tone name categories, 道 and 導 were 去聲 ; qùshēng ; 'departing tone' and 上聲 ; shǎngshēng ; 'rising tone'. Historical linguists have reconstructed MC 道 ; 'way' and 導 ; 'guide' as d'âu- and d'âu ( Bernhard Karlgren ), dau and dau daw and daw , daw and daws (William H. Baxter), and dâu and dâu . In Old Chinese ( c.  7th–3rd centuries BCE ) pronunciations, reconstructions for 道 and 導 are *d'ôg (Karlgren), *dəw (Zhou), *dəgwx and *dəgwh , *luʔ , and *lûʔ and *lûh . The word 道 has many meanings. For example,

8211-711: The early 20th century by the Hungarian-British explorer Aurel Stein and the French sinologist Paul Pelliot , contain numerous Zhuangzi fragments dating to the early Tang dynasty. Stein and Pelliot took most of the manuscripts back to Europe; they are presently held at the British Library and the Bibliothèque nationale de France . The Zhuangzi fragments among the manuscripts constitute approximately twelve chapters of Guo Xiang's edition. A Zhuangzi manuscript dating to

8330-520: The end of the second chapter, "On the Equality of Things", and consists of a dream being briefly recalled. 昔者莊周夢為胡蝶，栩栩然胡蝶也，自喻適志與。不知周也。 Once, Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering about, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know that he was Zhuang Zhou. 俄然覺，則蘧蘧然周也。不知周之夢為胡蝶與，胡蝶之夢為周與。周與胡蝶，則必有分矣。此之謂物化。 Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuang Zhou. But he didn't know if he

8449-505: The existence and celestial importance of the Way of Heaven, he insisted that the Tao principally concerns human affairs. As a formal religious concept in Confucianism, Tao is the Absolute toward which the faithful move. In Zhongyong (The Doctrine of the Mean), harmony with the Absolute is the equivalent to integrity and sincerity. The Great Learning expands on this concept explaining that

8568-471: The greater universe as well, and breathing them in could create similar effects. The manifestation of the Tao is de , which rectifies and invigorates the world with the Tao's radiance. Alternatively, philosophical Taoism regards the Tao as a non-religious concept; it is not a deity to be worshiped, nor is it a mystical Absolute in the religious sense of the Hindu brahman . Joseph Wu remarked of this conception of

8687-410: The hand element" is usually identified with the modern character 導 tao < d'ôg , 'to lead,', 'guide', 'conduct', and considered to be a derivative or verbal cognate of the noun tao , "way," "path." The evidence just summarized would indicate rather that " tao with the hand" is but a variant of the basic tao and that the word itself combined both nominal and verbal aspects of the etymon. This

8806-475: The human world and its conventions. The text aims to illustrate the arbitrariness and ultimate falsity of dichotomies normally embraced by human societies, such as those between good and bad, large and small, life and death, or human and nature. In contrast with the focus on good morals and personal duty expressed by many Chinese philosophers of the period, Zhuang Zhou promoted carefree wandering and following nature, through which one would ultimately become one with

8925-529: The humans "Lickety" and "Split" drilling seven holes into the primordial " Wonton " ( No.  7), or Zhuang Zhou being discovered sitting and drumming on a basin after his wife dies ( No.  18). A few are longer and more complex, like the story of Lie Yukou and the magus , or the account of the Yellow Emperor 's music (both No.  14). Most of the stories within the Zhuangzi seem to have been invented by Zhuang Zhou himself. This distinguishes

9044-458: The individual elements of the Universe derive. Catherine Keller considers it similar to the negative theology of Western scholars, but the Tao is rarely an object of direct worship, being treated more like the Hindu concepts of karma , dharma , or Ṛta than as a divine object. The Tao is more commonly expressed in the relationship between wu (void or emptiness, in the sense of wuji ) and

9163-522: The introduction to his 1994 translation, Victor H. Mair wrote that he "[felt] a sense of injustice that the Dao De Jing is so well known to my fellow citizens while the Zhuangzi is so thoroughly ignored, because I firmly believe that the latter is in every respect a superior work". Western thinkers who have been influenced by the text include Martin Heidegger (1889–1976), who became deeply interested in

9282-569: The key to true happiness was to free oneself from worldly impingements through a principle of 'inaction' ( wu wei )—action that is not based in purposeful striving or motivated by potential gain. As such, he fundamentally opposed systems that sought to impose order on individuals. The Zhuangzi describes the universe as being in a constant state of spontaneous change, which is not driven by any conscious God or force of will . It argues that humans, owing to their exceptional cognitive ability, tend to create artificial distinctions that remove them from

9401-550: The kind of thing the Universe is and the kind of things we are." He asserted that every religion and philosophy contains foundations of universal ethics as an attempt to line up with the Tao—the way mankind was designed to be. In Lewis's thinking, God created the Tao and fully displayed it through the person of Jesus Christ . Similarly, Eastern Orthodox hegumen Damascene (Christensen), a pupil of noted monastic and scholar of East Asian religions Seraphim Rose , identified logos with

9520-493: The later verbal sense of 'say'. It should also be contrasted with 導 ; 'lead the way', 'guide', 'conduct', 'direct'. The simplified character 导 for 導 has 巳 ; '6th of the 12 Earthly Branches ' in place of 道 . The earliest written forms of "Tao" are bronzeware script and seal script characters from the Zhou dynasty (1045–256 BCE) bronzes and writings. These ancient forms more clearly depict

9639-462: The limitations of human knowledge and the rational world. Sinologist Victor H. Mair compares Zhuang Zhou's process of reasoning to Socratic dialogue —exemplified by the debate between Zhuang Zhou and fellow philosopher Huizi regarding the "joy of fish" ( No.  17). Mair additionally characterizes Huizi's paradoxes near the end of the book as being "strikingly like those of Zeno of Elea ". The most famous of all Zhuangzi stories appears at

9758-419: The material previously edited by Liu. Guo plainly stated that he had made considerable edits to the outer and miscellaneous chapters in an attempt to preserve Zhuang Zhou's original ideas from later distortions, in a way that "did not hesitate to impose his personal understanding and philosophical preferences on the text". The received text as edited by Guo is approximately 63,000 characters long—around two-thirds

9877-455: The more metaphysical usage of the term used in philosophical Taoism and most forms of Mahayana Buddhism ; others maintain that these are not separate usages or meanings, seeing them as mutually inclusive and compatible approaches to defining the principle. The original use of the term was as a form of praxis rather than theory—a term used as a convention to refer to something that otherwise cannot be discussed in words—and early writings such as

9996-459: The most "profound and systematic" of the School of Names. As Gongsun Long enjoys the favor or rulers, his work also concerns social order. The Gongsun Long Zi reads: Heaven, earth, and their products are all things [物 wu]. When things possess the characteristics of things without exceeding them, there is actuality [shi]. When actuality actually fulfills its function as actuality, without wanting, there

10115-460: The natural spontaneity of the universe. These include those of good versus bad, large versus small, and usefulness versus uselessness. It proposes that humans can achieve ultimate happiness by rejecting these distinctions, and living spontaneously in kind. Zhuang Zhou often uses examples of craftsmen and artisans to illustrate the mindlessness and spontaneity he felt should characterize human action. As Burton Watson described, "the skilled woodcarver,

10234-406: The natural, dynamic balance between opposites, leading to its central principle of wu wei (inaction or inexertion). The Tao is usually described in terms of elements of nature, and in particular, as similar to water. Like water it is undifferentiated, endlessly self-replenishing, soft and quiet but immensely powerful, and impassively generous. The Song dynasty painter Chen Rong popularized

10353-507: The oeuvres of Laozi and Zhuang Zhou during the 1930s. In particular, Heidegger was drawn to the Zhuangzi ' s treatment of usefulness versus uselessness. He explicitly references one of the debates between Zhuang Zhou and Huizi (No. 24) within the third dialogue of Country Path Conversations , written as the Second World War was coming to an end. In the dialogue, Heidegger's characters conclude that "pure waiting" as expressed in

10472-484: The one and give to the other—how skewed would that be?" The principles and attitudes expressed in the Zhuangzi form the core of philosophical Taoism . The text recommends embracing a natural spontaneity in order to better align one's inner self with the cosmic "Way". It also encourages keeping a distance from politics and social obligations, accepting death as a natural transformation, and appreciating things otherwise viewed as useless or lacking purpose. The text implores

10591-497: The original form of the text. During the late 1st century BC, the entire Han imperial library—including its edition of the Zhuangzi —was subject to considerable redaction and standardization by the polymath Liu Xiang (77–6 BC) and his son Liu Xin ( c.  46 BC  – AD 23). All extant copies of the Zhuangzi ultimately derive from a version that was further edited and redacted to 33 chapters by Guo Xiang c.  300 AD , who worked from

10710-468: The original inner chapters, although close intertextual analysis does not support the inner chapters comprising the earliest stratum. Multiple authorship over time was a typical feature of Warring States texts of this genre. A limited consensus has been established regarding five distinct "schools" of authorship, each responsible for their own layers of substance within the text. Despite the lack of traceable attribution, modern scholars generally accept that

10829-404: The others. A.C. Graham proposed this interpretation and illustrated it with an analogy. The "Objector" assumes that "a white horse is not a horse" is parallel to "a sword is not a weapon," but the "Sophist" is treating the statement as parallel to "a sword is not a blade." Other interpretations have been put forward by Fung Yu-lan and Chad Hansen, among others. This work has been viewed by some as

10948-502: The passage, Zhuang Zhou "[plays] with the theme of transformation", illustrating that "the distinction between waking and dreaming is another false dichotomy . If [one] distinguishes them, how can [one] tell if [one] is now dreaming or awake?" Another well-known passage dubbed "The Death of Wonton" illustrates the dangers Zhuang Zhou saw in going against the innate nature of things. 南海之帝為儵，北海之帝為忽，中央之帝為渾沌。儵與忽時相與遇於渾沌之地，渾沌待之甚善。儵與忽謀報渾沌之德，曰：人皆有七竅，以視聽食息，此獨無有，嘗試鑿之。日鑿一竅，七日而渾沌死。 The emperor of

11067-457: The personal process of following the Tao at length, compared to Laozi he articulates little about the nature of the Tao itself. The Zhuangzi ' s only direct description of the Tao is contained in "The Great Ancestral Teacher" ( No.  6), in a passage "demonstrably adapted" from chapter 21 of the Tao Te Ching . The inner chapters and the Tao Te Ching agree that limitations inherent to human language preclude any sufficient description of

11186-462: The progression of the four seasons, spring, summer, fall, winter." 人且偃然寢於巨室，而我噭噭然隨而哭之，自以為不通乎命，故止也。 "Now she's going to lie down peacefully in a vast room. If I were to follow after her bawling and sobbing, it would show that I don't understand anything about fate. So I stopped." Zhuang Zhou seems to have viewed death as a natural process of transformation to be wholly accepted, where a person gives up one form of existence and assumes another. In

11305-427: The reader to reject societal norms and conventional reasoning. The other major philosophical schools in ancient China—including Confucianism , Legalism , and Mohism —all proposed concrete social, political, and ethical reforms. By reforming both individuals and society as a whole, thinkers from these schools sought to alleviate human suffering, and ultimately solve the world's problems. Contrarily, Zhuang Zhou believed

11424-420: The remaining 26 chapters has been the subject of perennial debate: they were divided by Guo into 15 'outer chapters' ( 外篇 ; wàipiān ) and 11 'miscellaneous chapters' ( 雜篇 ; zápiān ). Today, it is generally accepted that the outer and miscellaneous chapters were the result of a process of "accretion and redaction" in which later authors "[responded] to the scintillating brilliance" of

11543-431: The second chapter, Zhuang Zhou makes the point that, for all humans know, death may in fact be better than life: "How do I know that loving life is not a delusion? How do I know that in hating death I am not like a man who, having left home in his youth, has forgotten the way back?" His writings teach that "the wise man or woman accepts death with equanimity and thereby achieves absolute happiness." Zhuang Zhou's own death

11662-495: The seventh day Wonton died. Zhuang Zhou believed that the greatest of all human happiness could be achieved through a higher understanding of the nature of things, and that in order to develop oneself fully one needed to express one's innate ability. Chapter 17 contains a well-known exchange between Zhuang Zhou and Huizi, featuring a heavy use of wordplay; it has been compared to a Socratic dialogue . 莊子與惠子遊於濠梁之上。莊子曰：儵魚出遊從容，是魚樂也。 Zhuangzi and Huizi were enjoying themselves on

11781-509: The skilled butcher, the skilled swimmer does not ponder or ratiocinate on the course of action he should take; his skill has become so much a part of him that he merely acts instinctively and spontaneously and, without knowing why, achieves success". The term "wandering" ( 遊 ; yóu ) is used throughout the Zhuangzi to describe how an enlightened person "wanders through all of creation, enjoying its delights without ever becoming attached to any one part of it". The nonhuman characters throughout

11900-693: The somewhat obsolescent deverbal noun from "to lead." These Confucian Analects citations of dao verbally meaning 'to guide', 'to lead' are: "The Master said, 'In guiding a state of a thousand chariots, approach your duties with reverence and be trustworthy in what you say" and "The Master said, 'Guide them by edicts, keep them in line with punishments, and the common people will stay out of trouble but will have no sense of shame." In modern Standard Chinese , 道 's two primary pronunciations are tonally differentiated between falling tone dào ; 'way', 'path' and dipping tone dǎo ; 'guide', 'lead' (usually written as 導 ). Besides

12019-440: The study of Chinese literature". The Zhuangzi is presented as the collected works of a man named Zhuang Zhou —traditionally referred to as "Zhuangzi" ( 莊子 ; "Master Zhuang"), using the traditional Chinese honorific . Almost nothing is concretely known of Zhuang Zhou's life. Most what is known comes from the Zhuangzi itself, which was subject to changes in later centuries. Most historians place his birth around 369 BC in

12138-504: The sun and moon as my pair of jade disks , the stars and constellations as my pearls and beads, the ten thousand things as my funerary gifts. With my burial complete, how is there anything left unprepared? What shall be added to it?" 弟子曰：吾恐烏鳶之食夫子也。莊子曰：在上為烏鳶食，在下為螻蟻食，奪彼與此，何其偏也。 The disciples said: "We are afraid that the crows and kites will eat you, Master!" Master Zhuang said: "Above ground I'd be eaten by crows and kites, below ground I'd be eaten by mole crickets and ants. You rob

12257-412: The surviving chapters were originally composed between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC. Excepting textual analysis, details of the text's history prior to the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) are largely unknown. Traces of its influence on the philosophy of texts written during the late Warring States period , such as the Guanzi , Han Feizi and Huainanzi , suggest that

12376-446: The text are often identified as being useful vehicles for metaphor. However, some recent scholarship has characterized the Zhuangzi as being "anti-anthropocentric" or even "animalistic" in the significance it ascribes to nonhuman characters. When viewed through this lens, the Zhuangzi questions humanity's central place in the world, or even rejects the distinction between the human and natural worlds altogether. Political positions in

12495-485: The text from other works of the period, where anecdotes generally only appear as occasional interjections, and were usually drawn from existing proverbs or legends. Some stories are completely whimsical, such as the strange description of evolution from "misty spray" through a series of substances and insects to horses and humans ( No.  18), while a few other passages seem to be "sheer playful nonsense" which read like Lewis Carroll 's " Jabberwocky ". The Zhuangzi

12614-619: The text's influence on Shangqing thought. The Zhuangzi was very influential in the adaptation of Buddhism to Chinese culture after Buddhism was first brought to China from India in the 1st century AD. Zhi Dun , China's first aristocratic Buddhist monk, wrote a prominent commentary to the Zhuangzi in the mid-4th century. The Zhuangzi also played a significant role in the formation of Chan Buddhism —and therefore of Zen in Japan—which grew out of "a fusion of Buddhist ideology and ancient Daoist thought." Traits of Chan practice traceable to

12733-436: The text—sometimes engaging in invented debates with Laozi , where Confucius is consistently portrayed as being the less authoritative, junior figure of the two. In some appearances, Confucius is subjected to mockery and made "the butt of many jokes", while in others he is treated with unambiguous respect, intermittently serving as the "mouthpiece" for Zhuang Zhou's ideas. The Zhuangzi and Tao Te Ching are considered to be

12852-405: The time before she was born. Not only the time before she was born, but the time before she had a body. Not only the time before she had a body, but the time before she had a spirit. In the midst of the jumble of wonder and mystery a change took place and she had a spirit. Another change and she had a body. Another change and she was born. Now there's been another change and she's dead. It's just like

12971-460: The traditions of Buddhism. Ancestors and the Mandate of Heaven were thought to emanate from the Tao, especially during the Song dynasty . Buddhism first started to spread in China during the first century AD and was experiencing a golden age of growth and maturation by the fourth century AD. Hundreds of collections of Pali and Sanskrit texts were translated into Chinese by Buddhist monks within

13090-427: The truth of the statement "White horses are not horses," while the other interlocutor (sometimes called the "objector") disputes the truth of this statement. This has been interpreted in a number of ways. Possibly the simplest interpretation is to see it as based on a confusion of class and identity. The argument, by this interpretation, plays upon an ambiguity in Chinese that does not exist in English. The expression "X

13209-473: The two fundamental texts in the Taoist tradition . It is accepted that some version of the Tao Te Ching influenced the composition of the Zhuangzi ; however, the two works are distinct in their perspectives on the Tao itself. The Zhuangzi uses the word "Tao" ( 道 ) less frequently than the Tao Te Ching , with the former often using ' heaven ' ( 天 ) in places the latter would use "Tao". While Zhuang Zhou discusses

13328-604: The ultimate. He is best known for a series of paradoxes in the tradition of Hui Shi , including "white horses are not horses", "when no thing is not the pointed-out, to point out is not to point out", and "there is no 1 in 2". These paradoxes seem to suggest a similarity to the discovery in Greek philosophy that pure logic may lead to apparently absurd conclusions. Although not done justice by English translation, professor Zhenbin Sun considers Gongsun Long’s work on ming-shi, or name and reality,

13447-507: The universe and even more phenomena in the world and nature. The Tao of Confucius can be translated as 'truth'. Confucianism regards the Way, or Truth, as concordant with a particular approach to life, politics, and tradition. It is held as equally necessary and well regarded as de and ren ('compassion', 'humanity'). Confucius presents a humanistic Tao. He only rarely speaks of the 'Way of Heaven'. The early Confucian philosopher Xunzi explicitly noted this contrast. Though he acknowledged

13566-514: The value of adhering to the principles of the Tao and the various consequences of failing to do so. The Tao was shared with Confucianism, Chan Buddhism and Zen , and more broadly throughout East Asian philosophy and religion in general. In Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, and Confucianism, the object of spiritual practice is to "become one with the Tao" ( Tao Te Ching ) or to harmonize one's will with nature to achieve 'effortless action'. This involves meditative and moral practices. Important in this respect

13685-481: The word is used symbolically in its sense of "way" as the right or proper way of existence, or in the context of ongoing practices of attainment or of the full coming into being, or the state of enlightenment or spiritual perfection that is the outcome of such practices. Some scholars make sharp distinctions between the moral or ethical usage of the word "Tao" that is prominent in Confucianism and religious Taoism and

13804-487: The works attributed to Zhuang Zhou are dedicated to critiques of the failures of Confucianism. The translator Arthur Waley observed that [Tao] means a road, path, way; and hence, the way in which one does something; method, doctrine, principle. The Way of Heaven, for example, is ruthless; when autumn comes 'no leaf is spared because of its beauty, no flower because of its fragrance'. The Way of Man means, among other things, procreation; and eunuchs are said to be 'far from

13923-458: The world. A number of later scholars adopted this interpretation, such as Tai Chen during the Qing dynasty . Zhu Xi , Cheng Ho , and Cheng Yi perceived the Tao in the context of li ('principle') and t'ien li ('principle of Heaven'). Cheng Hao regarded the fundamental matter of li , and thus the Tao, to be humaneness. Developing compassion, altruism, and other humane virtues is following of

14042-472: Was Zhuang Zhou who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming that he was Zhuang Zhou. Between Zhuang Zhou and the butterfly there must be some distinction! This is called the Transformation of Things. The image of Zhuang Zhou wondering if he was a man who dreamed of being a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming of being a man became so well known that whole dramas have been written on its theme. In

14161-466: Was already influential by the 3rd century BC. During the Qin and Han dynasties , with their respective state-sponsored Legalist and Confucian ideologies, the Zhuangzi does not seem to have been highly regarded. One exception is " Fu on the Owl" ( 鵩鳥賦 ; Fúniǎo fù )—the earliest known definitive example of fu rhapsody , written by the Han-era scholar Jia Yi in 170 BC. Jia does not reference

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