Zhuangzi Biography

Author: Yan Shian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: This book reinterprets Zhuangzi's thought of traveling the world and his theory of the Dao, set against the backdrop of the hermit tradition and Daoist philosophy. Zhuangzi was a great hermit thinker in the mid-Warring States period, whose ideas addressed many important issues of the time's intellectual circles. However, his core concern was to answer how individuals could find their way in chaotic times. Zhuangzi had a unique understanding of social darkness and human suffering. He did not believe that the various methods traditional hermits used to withdraw from the world could truly escape the darkness, so he pioneered the idea of traveling the world. On the surface, the thought of traveling the world seems playful and whimsical, with no fixed principles, but in essence, it is about maintaining inner solitude. On the other hand, Zhuangzi inherited the idealistic tradition of hermits, seeking a fresh and pure life beyond the corrupting influence of secular existence. He combined this ideal of freshness with the theory of the Dao in nature, creating a theory of how individuals can establish entirely new relationships with the world. The theory of the Dao in nature from the pre-Qin period reached its philosophical peak with Zhuangzi.