National Treasure Library of Chinese Classics Zhuangzi

Author: Zhuang Zhou / Han Weizhi (Commentary)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Zhuang Zhou (c. 369–286 BC), styled Zhou, courtesy name Zi Xiu, was a native of the eastern suburbs of Mengcheng County (now Dongcheng Road in Chengguan Town). He once served as an official in the Lacquer Garden and was a renowned thinker and litterateur of the Warring States period. Throughout his life, Zhuang Zhou wrote over 100,000 words, compiling the book Zhuangzi. The emergence of this text marked the development of Chinese philosophy and literary language to an extraordinary level of profundity and depth during the Warring States era, making it a treasure among ancient Chinese classics. Thus, Zhuang Zhou was not only a famous thinker in the history of Chinese philosophy but also an outstanding litterateur in the history of Chinese literature. His influence on generations of Chinese thinkers and litterateurs was profound and immense, granting him an extremely important position in both the history of Chinese thought and literature. He once held a minor post as an official in Mengcheng's Lacquer Garden (now the site of the Lacquer Garden on the northern bank of the Wehe River in the county seat) but soon resigned. Dressed in coarse clothes and straw sandals, he lived in a humble lane, writing books while subsisting on porridge and wild vegetables. When his life became difficult to sustain, he once borrowed grain from the Governor of the Supervisory River. Hearing that Zhuang Zhou was a knowledgeable and virtuous person in his realm, King Wei of Chu sent an envoy with a heavy gift of a thousand gold pieces to the Lacquer Garden (in Mengcheng) to invite Zhuang Zhou to serve as the prime minister of Chu. After the envoy explained the king's intention to appoint Zhuang Zhou as prime minister, Zhuang Zhou smiled and said to the envoy, "A thousand gold pieces can be considered a heavy gift, and the prime minister's post is indeed the highest honor. But have you not seen the ox used in sacrifices? People fatten it up, dress it in colorful finery, and yet it is still led to the grand temple to be sacrificed. I would rather live a life of indifference and non-action than become a sacrificial ox." With a smile, Zhuang Zhou "used the ox to decline the prime minister's post" and ultimately did not accept the position in Chu. In the early Warring States period, the vassal states frequently engaged in warfare, leading to social instability. Against this backdrop, academic thought flourished, with various schools of thought emerging one after another, forming his unique philosophical system and thought. Only a hundred miles apart, their academic ideas were also referred to as "the Learning of Laozi and Zhuangzi along the Wehe River." In his later years, Zhuang Zhou often fished in Puyuan River (now Qianhe River in the south of the city) and Wehe River, and wandered in Haoliang (southwest of Linhuai City in Fengyang County, Anhui) to watch fish, sharing joy with fish and birds, content with a quiet and leisurely life. In the first year of the Tianbao era (742 AD), Emperor Xuanzong of Tang issued an edict, bestowing upon Zhuang Zhou the title of "True Master of the South River" and naming his book The True Classic of the South River. Throughout history, there have been scholars who studied Zhuang Zhou, and their works number in the hundreds. In recent years, works such as Zhuangzi in Colloquial Chinese and The Modern Version of Zhuangzi have also been published. In autumn 1989, scholars from around the world gathered in Mengcheng to hold the first national academic conference on Zhuangzi.