The Complete Works of Zhuangzi (Translations from the Asian Classics)
Language: English
Pages: 368
ISBN: 0231164742
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Only by inhabiting Dao (the Way of Nature) and dwelling in its unity can humankind achieve true happiness and freedom, in both life and death. This is Daoist philosophy's central tenet, espoused by the person―or group of people―known as Zhuangzi (369?-286? B.C.E.) in a text by the same name. To be free, individuals must discard rigid distinctions between good and bad, right and wrong, and follow a course of action not motivated by gain or striving. When one ceases to judge events as good or bad, man-made suffering disappears and natural suffering is embraced as part of life.
Zhuangzi elucidates this mystical philosophy through humor, parable, and anecdote, deploying non sequitur and even nonsense to illuminate a truth beyond the boundaries of ordinary logic. Boldly imaginative and inventively worded, the Zhuangzi floats free of its historical period and society, addressing the spiritual nourishment of all people across time. One of the most justly celebrated texts of the Chinese tradition, the Zhuangzi is read by thousands of English-language scholars each year, yet only in the Wade-Giles romanization. Burton Watson's pinyin romanization brings the text in line with how Chinese scholars, and an increasing number of other scholars, read it.
and realm of formlessness, 181; and violence, 202. See also wrangling decisiveness, 284–85 deer, attraction to their own kind, 15 Deng Heng, 217, 217n8 dependence, 18n23; and the body, 162; Liezi and, 3; mutual dependence of things, 10–11, 186, 224; and the sage, 83 Diaoling, 164–65 Ding (cook), 19–20 “Discoursing on Swords,” 266–70 discrimination, 13–15, 100, 129–31, 177, 193, 223. See also likes and dislikes; “same” and “different” “Discussion on Making All Things Equal,” 7–18
It is the same with all things. What starts out being sincere usually ends up being deceitful. What was simple in the beginning acquires monstrous proportions in the end. “Words are like wind and waves; actions are a matter of gain and loss. Wind and waves are easily moved; questions of gain and loss easily lead to danger. Hence anger arises from no other cause than clever words and one-sided speeches. When animals face death, they do not care what cries they make; their breath comes in gasps,
Teacher 7. Fit for Emperors and Kings 8. Webbed Toes 9. Horses’ Hoofs 10. Rifling Trunks 11. Let It Be, Leave It Alone 12. Heaven and Earth 13. The Way of Heaven 14. The Turning of Heaven 15. Constrained in Will 16. Mending the Inborn Nature 17. Autumn Floods 18. Supreme Happiness 19. Mastering Life 20. The Mountain Tree 21. Tian Zifang 22. Knowledge Wandered North 23. Gengsang Chu 24. Xu Wugui 25. Zeyang 26. External Things 27. Imputed Words 28. Giving Away a Throne 29.
Confucianists and Mohists rose up all around. Then joy and anger eyed each other with suspicion; stupidity and wisdom duped each other; good and bad called one another names; falsehood and truth slandered each other; and the world sank into a decline. There was no more unity to the Great Virtue, and the inborn nature and fate shattered and fell apart. The world coveted knowledge, and the hundred clans were thrown into turmoil.5 Then there were axes and saws to shape things; ink and plumb lines to
it is, then between No-End’s declaration that he doesn’t understand and No-Action’s declaration that he does, which is right and which is wrong?” No-Beginning said, “Not to understand is profound; to understand is shallow. Not to understand is to be on the inside; to understand is to be on the outside.” Thereupon Grand Purity gazed up11 and sighed, saying, “Not to understand is to understand? To understand is not to understand? Who understands the understanding that does not understand?”