The Yearning for the Transformation of the Mind: Zhuangzi's Inner Chapters Analysis

Author: (American) Ailing Xin / Zhou Chicheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: This book provides a fundamentally new interpretation of the philosophy of Zhuangzi. Among similar works, it is the first to fully and elaborately elucidate the existence of a deep cognitive structure in Zhuangzi, which lies hidden beneath the seemingly arbitrary literary anecdotes, mystical utterances, and obscure allusions. The authors meticulously analyze myths, legends, monsters, paradoxes, metaphors, and linguistic puzzles—strategically employed techniques to systematically guide and develop the spiritual dimensions of the human mind. This book is a significant work in the international study of Zhuangzi. The authors argue that the main theme of Zhuangzi (especially its Inner Chapters) is the transformation of the mind, the shift from dream to awakening, and the leap from a lower state to a higher one. This book challenges the traditional view of Zhuangzi as a work of relativism, offering a detailed critique and profound analysis of various relativistic interpretations in Zhuangzi studies. It boldly questions the arrangement of the "butterfly dream" narrative, which has been for over two thousand years, and suggests that the "Great Sage Dream" in the "On the Equality of Things" ("There is a great awakening before one knows this as a great dream") better reflects Zhuangzi's philosophy, while the "butterfly dream" is merely an immature version of the "Great Sage Dream." This book highly evaluates Zhuangzi, considering it a first-class philosophical work among the finest creations of the human mind.