Zhuangzi -- A Must-Read for Youth Quality Education (The Blooming Season Volume)

Author: Zhong Lei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-01
Features: Did traditional Confucianism have a direct or indirect interaction with the economic takeoff in East Asia? Or, is China's Confucian tradition related to modernity? When such topics are being widely discussed and debated among scholars, Zhuangzi's philosophy has already provided universal spiritual resources for modern people trapped in the suffering of "Heaven's punishment" by external things. Laozi addressed the "Heaven-Mankind" problem, Confucius the "Human-Human" problem, and Zhuangzi the "Human-Self" problem. Only the "Human-Self" aspect holds the key, which is in one's own hands. During the Warring States period, when the Hundred Schools of Thought flourished, there was a clerk named Zhuang Zhou in the state of Song who wrote the book Zhuangzi, with its writing being enigmatic and its ideas profound. Over two thousand three hundred years later, the original Zhuangzi has become quite difficult to digest. Writing a modernized version of Zhuangzi for readers, bringing the ancients into the modern era to speak, while leaving the original version for experts to study, is my intention. Zhuangzi held no official position, was not involved in social movements, and only hid in a humble lane writing books, criticizing the noble Confucians and attacking the corrupt society, yearning for the mysterious nature. In ragged clothes and straw sandals, with porridge and wild vegetables for sustenance, materially poor but spiritually free, he was a great literary master who lived a lonely life. His works comforted the frustrated literati of generations. Zhuangzi can be said to be a collection of philosophical, sociological, and ethical essays, yet it has had a significant impact on later literature. The reason lies in Zhuangzi's miraculous linguistic art. The main feature of Zhuangzi's linguistic art is the creative use of fables to explain principles. Zhuangzi believed that society was "muddy and turbid" and unsuitable for serious conversation, so he used fictional exaggeration, ridicule, and satire, with "the mind like a gushing spring and thoughts like drifting wind," creating hundreds of fables. Through various social phenomena, he explored deeper philosophical truths. Another feature of Zhuangzi's linguistic art is his rich and extraordinary imagination and his meticulous portrayal of things. The entire book uses broad strokes to outline vivid images of figures like fishermen, butchers, painters, hermits, archers, Confucian scholars, and more, depicting the wonders of nature such as the vast sky, rivers, seas, flying birds, walking beasts, music, and wind and clouds. The depth and subtlety of its artistic conception, the uniqueness and peril of its composition, the vividness of its metaphors, the richness and intensity of its expression, and the elegance and fluency of its meaning all reach the pinnacle of perfection, leaving later literati "overwhelmed, enchanted, and" (Wen Yiduo, Classical Interpretations·Zhuangzi). Additionally, the numerous fables in Zhuangzi and the many idioms derived from them, such as "sighing at the vastness of the world," "laughing at the experts," "learning to walk in Handan," "expelling the old and embracing the new," "Dongshi imitating Xi Shi," "Butcher Ding splitting an ox," "Xiaolou carrying a sedan chair," "the frog in the well," and "Yu Zhi replacing the handle of the halberd," have become treasures in the treasury of Chinese language and literature.