Shadow Play

Author: Zhi'an
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: "Wangliang" appears twice in the Zhuangzi, once in the "Qiwulun" and once in the "Yulun." Guo Qingfan's "Collected Explanations" states: "The faint shade outside the shadow." This is also known as "the shadow of a shadow." The subjects discussed in "Wangliang Bian" are all translated works, at most no more than shadows compared to the original texts; if the discussions are merely personal opinions, they are another layer of shadows. The "Qiwulun" states: "Wangliang asked the shadow, 'Yesterday you walked, now you stand still; yesterday you sat, now you rise—why do you have no fixed principles?' 'No fixed principles' is what the common saying refers to as 'lacking a consistent pattern.' The 'Yulun' then clarifies 'resembling yet not being the same.' Shadows are like this, and the shadow of a shadow is even more prone to such criticism."