Zhuangzi: Modern Annotations and Translations (Volume 1, 2, and 3)

Author: Chen Guying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-08-01
Features:
1. The "Notes" section of this book took the most time. Frequently, I spent a lot of effort searching through ancient annotations to find an appropriate explanation for a single character, word, or sentence.
2. The "Translation" in this book is based on the "Notes" and references existing Chinese and English translations. To make the translation clear and close to the original meaning, I have tried to adopt phrases that others have translated well. In many places, my translation differs from others', which is due to my personal interpretation of Zhuangzi's text.
3. The Zhuangzi text used in this book is based on the collated and annotated edition of Guo Qingfan's Collected Explanations (Shijie Shuju reprint). Guo Qingfan's Collected Explanations includes the full text of Guo Xiang's annotations, Cheng Xuanying's commentary, and Lu Deming's phonetic annotations, as well as excerpts from the etymological studies of Wang Niansi, Yu Yue, and others from the Qing Dynasty. It also includes Yuan Songtao's and Guo Qingfan's own opinions. The Collected Explanations was originally based on Li Shujing's collated edition of the "Shiye Yeshu," and Zhuang Xue further corrected it using the Shang Song edition of the "Ancient and Lost Classics Series," the Yin Shi edition of the "Long Edition," the Daozang edition of Cheng Xuanying's commentary, as well as Sun Yuxiu's annotations on the "Song Zhao Jianyi" from the "Four Treasures Series" and the recent annotations by Zhuang Shuimin and Liu Wen. Any additions or deletions to the original text are explained in the "Notes."
4. Zhuangzi's works are extremely extensive, and the "Miscellaneous Chapters" are particularly disorganized. For clarity, the entire book is numbered to divide sections and paragraphs.
5. During the annotation and translation process, in addition to referencing ancient and modern annotations, I also referred to English, Japanese, and mainland scholars' specialized works on Zhuangzi. The references in this book are limited to etymological explanations, which are based on academic needs and do not involve political or ideological issues.
6. During the writing of this book, Mr. Yan Ling published the "Collected Edition of Zhuangzi" and the "Zhuangzi Art and Literature Reprint Series," which provided great convenience for the annotation work of this book.