Zhuangzi · Transcendent Life

Author: Yin Zhenhai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: The term "pre-Qin thought" primarily refers to the ideas of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. During this era, feudal lords engaged in wars of conquest, with powerful states attacking weaker ones and larger states annexing smaller ones. Events such as the introduction of the "initial tax per mu" in Lu, the displacement of the Qi state by the Tian family, the division of Jin among three families, Wu Qi serving as prime minister in Chu, and Shang Yang's reforms demonstrated how the economy relentlessly paved its own path. Behind the dazzling political and military stage lay the decisive role of the economic base, showcasing its immense selective power. Amid intense political, military, and diplomatic struggles, various social classes and political factions sought their theoretical representatives, consciously or unconsciously advocating for their interests through their theorists and thinkers, and vigorously refining their ideological weapons. This led to the extraordinary phenomenon of scholars debating freely and the Hundred Schools of Thought competing. The outcome of this intellectual ferment helped our nation break free from the obscurantism and constraints of primitive witchcraft and religion, laying the foundation for a rationalist cultural psychological structure. The thoughts of the various schools during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were both rich and complex. The works left behind by these schools were mostly compiled by later generations, and some were not the product of a single author at a single time. For example, regarding the Zhuangzi, it includes the Inner Chapters, Outer Chapters, and Miscellaneous Chapters, and scholars still debate which parts were actually written by Zhuangzi. The Mozi contains both Mozi's own statements and those of his later followers. As for Laozi and Confucius, who came first, remains a contentious issue with no unified consensus. Such questions are avoided in this book, as its target audience is readers with a moderate level of education, and its purpose is purely introductory. If readers gain a general impression of the ideas of the pre-Qin schools after reading this book, that will have achieved its goal. The book is divided into eight volumes. Among them, Laozi, Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi each have their own volume; The Book of Changes, The, and The Art of War are combined into one volume.