"Zhuangzi": The Poetic Writing of Philosophical Thought

Mencius (孟子，c.371 – c.289 BC) said: "The system of sage kings collecting folk songs to understanding the people's sentiments and promoting ritual and musical edification was abolished, and the spirit of the kingly way and the educational function carried by the "Classic of Poetry" also perished; after the educational function of the "Classic of Poetry" came to an end did Confucius revise the "Spring and Autumn Annals". (王者之迹熄而詩亡，詩亡然後春秋作) " The first half of this line states that as the Zhou royal house gradually declined and moved toward extinction, poetry as a medium also declined along with it. This is because poetry as a medium in the "Classic of Poetry (《詩經》)" was itself a product and component of the ritual and music system, while also being subordinate to the ritual and music system—that is, poetry was dependent on politics. When the entity it depended upon perished, it naturally declined as well.

When the era of the "Classic of Poetry" came to an end, Confucius (孔子，c.551 – c.479 BC) edited the "Spring and Autumn Annals (《春秋》)". With the emergence of historical biographical literature such as the "Commentary of Zuo (《左傳》)", the age of prose and rhapsody arrived. Between the "Classic of Poetry" and the "Songs of Chu (《楚辭》)", there was an era when the prose of various philosophical schools flourished.

Zhuangzi (莊子，c.369 – c.286 BC, Also known as "莊周"), whose given name was Zhou (周). During his lifetime, Zhuangzi lived in obscurity. When mentioned at all, aside from the critical remark that "Zhuangzi was blinded by the Way of Heaven (天道, Nature), yet did not understand the Way of Man [人道, Human initiative] (莊子蔽于天而不知人)," no one spoke of him. The earliest record of Zhuangzi is found in Sima Qian (司馬遷, c.145 – c.86 BC)'s "Records of the Grand Historian (《史記》)". In the chapter "Biographies of Laozi and Han Fei (〈老子韓非列傳〉)", there is the following record: Zhuangzi was from Meng (蒙), and his name was Zhou (周). Zhuangzi once served as a minor official at the lacquer garden (漆園小吏) in Meng, and was a contemporary of King Hui of Liang (梁惠王, 400 – 319 BC) and King Xuan of Qi (齊宣王, c.350 – 301 BC). His learning was extensive, and there was nothing he did not study, yet the core and foundation all returned to the teachings of Laozi (老子, 571 – 470 BC). Therefore, the books he wrote contained over a hundred thousand characters, and were generally written in the form of allegories. He wrote chapters such as "The Old Fisherman (〈漁父〉)," "The Robber Zhi(〈盜跖〉)," and "Thieving (〈胠篋〉)" to slander and criticize Confucius and his disciples, in order to elucidate Laozi's teachings. ...... None of this content had any factual basis. However, Zhuangzi was very skilled at writing essays and embellishing language, able to depict things and draw analogies to principles, using these to criticize and refute Confucianism and Mohism. Even the most erudite and learned scholars of his time could not extricate themselves from his criticisms or defend themselves clearly. His words were vast and unrestrained, free and unconstrained, following only his own inclinations. Therefore, even kings and nobles could not employ him or regard him as a useful talent (莊子者，蒙人也，名周。周嘗爲蒙漆園吏。與梁惠王、齊宣王同時。其學無所不窺。然其要本歸于老子之言。故其著書十萬餘言，大抵率寓言也。作〈漁父〉〈盜跖〉〈胠篋〉， 以詆訾孔子之徒，以明老子之術。……皆空語無事實。然善屬書離辭，指事類情，用剽剝儒墨，雖當世宿學不能自解免也。其言洸洋自恣以適己，故自王公大人不能器之).

Based on the above text, people generally believe that Zhuangzi was from Meng in the state of Song (宋國, ? – 286 BC). He lived approximately during the middle Warring States period, roughly contemporary with King Hui of Liang and King Xuan of Qi. In the "Zhuangzi (莊子), " posthumous titles (謚號) are used for Marquess Wen of Wei (魏文侯, ? – 396 BC) and Marquess Wu of Wei (魏武侯, ? – 370 BC), while for King Hui of Wei (魏惠王, 400 – 319 BC), his personal name is first mentioned and then his royal title, suggesting that Zhuangzi lived approximately during the period from Duke Wen of Wei to King Hui of Wei (King Hui of Wei ascended the throne in 369 BC, so Zhuangzi should have lived around this time). The "Zhuangzi" mentions the use of lacquer multiple times and frequently cites craftsmen, such as "The lacquer tree (漆樹, Toxicodendron vernicifluum) is cut and harmed by people precisely because it is useful (漆可用，故割之)" in the Chapter "The Art of Conducting Oneself in Society (〈人間世〉)" and Chef Ding Dissects Ox (庖丁解牛) in "The Fundamental Principles of Nurturing Life and Spirit (〈養生主〉)," indicating that Zhuangzi was quite familiar with craftsmen's work. The record that Zhuangzi once served as an official at a lacquer garden has some basis, and he lived among the lower classes for a long time. The following is recorded in "The Collection of Conversations of Master Zhu (《朱子語類》)" that Zhu Xi (朱熹, 1130 - 1200) once said: In his own time, Zhuangzi was not revered as a master or followed by anyone, he simply reasoned and wrote alone in remote and desolate places (莊子在當時也無人宗之，他只在僻處自說), Huizi (惠施, c.370 – 310 BC, Also known as "惠施") could be considered Zhuangzi's only true friend in his entire life. In the Chapter "Xu Wugui (〈徐無鬼〉)," it tells of "Zhuangzi went to attend a funeral and passed by Huizi's tomb (莊子送葬，過惠施之墓)," where he couldn't help but feel sorrowful, using the story of craftsman Shi (匠石運斤)¹ to express his lonely state of mind of having "No one left to be an opponent or partner (無以為質)" and "No one left to talk with or have deep conversations with (無以言之)."

"Zhuangzi (《莊子》)" should have been completed as early as the pre-Qin period (先秦時代). During the Han dynasty,it consisted of fifty-two chapters with over one hundred thousand characters. The current thirty-three-chapter version of "Zhuangzi" was handed down after being edited and revised by Guo Xiang (郭象, c.252 - 312) of the Western Jin dynasty (西晉, 266-316). The present edition contains seven Core Chapters (內篇), fifteen Extended Chapters (外篇), and Eleven Miscellaneous chapters (雜篇) — a division established by Guo Xiang. In the evolution of Chinese cultural history and literary history, "Zhuangzi", much like "Laozi", holds an equally landmark position.

In the pre-Qin era, ever since the culture of written texts emerged, literature had been a faithful record of contemporary political reality. Whether documenting words or events, whether recording history or current affairs, it all constituted an authentic account of the major political issues, military events, and figures of the Chinese world — from the "Book of Documents (《尚書》)" to the "Commentary of Zuo", the "Analects", the "Mencius", and beyond, all were of this nature.

Beginning with the "Laozi", a great transformation took place: the systematic exposition of a philosopher's thought. Yet the arguments put forth existed somewhere between the real and the imagined, between the social and the cosmic — and it is precisely here that the "Zhuangzi" finds its opening. The "Zhuangzi", though also a systematic philosophical exposition, largely drifts free of the real world, soaring on the wings of imagination through the vast expanse of the cosmos. What was described earlier as Zhuangzi's boundless and unrestrained style — achieving, through "vague and far-fetched doctrines, grand and sweeping discourses, boundless and unconstrained words (以謬悠之說，荒唐之言，無端涯之辭)," the artistic realm of "communing and resonating alone with the spirit of heaven, earth, and the universe (獨與天地精神往來)" — represents a great leap in the evolutionary history of prose. Lu Xun (魯迅, 1881 - 1936) once praised Qu Yuan (屈原, c.340 – 278 BC)'s "Songs of Chu" as having "words of great length, writing of great beauty, imagination of great fantasy, and meaning of great clarity (其言甚長，其文甚麗，其思甚幻，其旨甚明)." Applied to Zhuangzi, these words fit just as well.

"Zhuangzi" puts forward three concepts: "Lodged Words" (寓言), "Repeated Words " (重言), and "Goblet Words" (卮言), all of which are modes of linguistic expression. Lodged Words refers to the use of objective persons or things, along with the stories and conversations surrounding them, to illustrate principles and convey ideas and opinions. It is a mode of expression grounded in objectivity; however, this objectivity is relative. Most of the Lodged Words in "Zhuangzi" are not historical facts but rather borrow certain figures as vehicles for the author's own ideas. In other words, "Zhuangzi" employs Lodged Words not to record history, but to articulate meaning. This constitutes a world of significance rather than a world of reality. All three modes of expression originate from Zhuangzi's free and open-minded character—unconstrained by any restrictions or rules, determined solely by the self, following own true nature, and going along with the natural order of things. Furthermore, in this text he puts forward the idea of "Silence and without judgment, all things are inherently equal and unified (不言則齊)" —that is, if one refrains from making verbal judgments, all things become equal. Without commentary or evaluation, there is no question of right or wrong, and all things thus exist on an equal plane, free from hierarchical distinctions of opinion. This is the authentic state of nature, which is precisely what is meant by "齊 (equalization)".

"Free and Easy Wandering (〈逍遙遊〉)" is the opening piece of "Zhuangzi". To grasp the essence of Free and Easy Wandering, two key points must be understood: first, there is its artistic exuberance — through "vague and far-fetched doctrines, grand and sweeping discourses, boundless and unconstrained words," the artistic realm of "communing and resonating alone with the spirit of heaven, earth, and the universe," representing a great leap in the evolutionary history of prose; second, there is its distinctive philosophical vision — a critique of the Confucian thought that preceded it, an attempt at the free flight of human culture, and an upward gaze toward the starry sky in an effort to transcend the constraints of Confucianism.

The two points can be elaborated as two separate dimensions, yet in essence they form a shared living entity — an inseparable life bound together as flesh and blood. In thought, the critique and transcendence of Confucian ideology will inevitably lead to attempts at transcending language in the realm of linguistic art.

"Free and Easy Wandering" opens with: "In the northern sea there is a fish, its name is Kun. The Kun is of enormous size, spanning who knows how many thousands of li. It transforms into a bird, whose name is Peng. The back of the Peng spans who knows how many thousands of li in length. When it rises and takes flight, its wings are like clouds hanging at the edge of the sky. When the waters of the sea stir and the winds arise, this great Peng bird sets off on its journey to the southern sea. The southern sea is a heavenly pool formed by nature itself  (北冥有魚，其名爲鯤。鯤之大，不知其幾千里也。化而爲鳥，其名爲鵬。鵬之背，不知其幾千里也。怒而飛，其翼若垂天之雲。是鳥也，海運則將徙于南冥。南冥者，天池也)."

From the "Book of Songs" to the "Spring and Autumn Annals" and the "Commentary of Zuo", to the "Mozi (《墨子》)" and the "Laozi", all of these works focused on the real world. The emergence of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas (《山海經》)" can be seen as one of the direct sources of Zhuangzi, or one might say that the mid-Warring States period was an age that gave birth to mythology, an age of storytelling. Our literary histories tend to place mythology at the very beginning — this reflects a kind of retrospective imagination, a subjective assumption that mythology represents the childhood of humanity. The Huaxia (華夏) people are a rational people, a precocious people, a people who entered the cage of Confucian thought in their adolescence.

Zhuangzi did not tell stories for the mere sake of storytelling; rather, he employed stories to illuminate philosophical ideas — what we commonly call the use of allegory. Nor were these ordinary stories, but rather " vague and far-fetched doctrines, grand and sweeping discourses, boundless and unconstrained words." Everything he described was born of pure invention, with no reliance on existing sources. Whether it be the Kun and the Peng, the southern sea, or the mythological tales that follow, all are wondrous creations, all sprung from the world of Zhuangzi's imagination. And how magnificent, how romantically sublime, his descriptions are!

At the very opening, a long and flowing passage unfolds. If one were to identify a single character as its key word, it would undoubtedly be the character "化" (transform) from the phrase "化而爲鳥 (It transforms into a bird)". "化" means transformation, evolution, change — what Western philosophy expresses as "No man ever steps in the same river twice." All things in the universe are in constant flux at every moment; the only constant is change itself.

What "Zhuangzi" addresses at its very opening appears to be a question of "greatness," but in essence, the key word is "transformation": to speak of the vastness of the Kun and the Peng, it begins with the Kun in its infinitesimal smallness — this too is a kind of relativity. That tiny fish, the Kun, transforms into a great fish is already an extraordinary exaggeration, yet this is only the beginning. Kun originally refers to fish roe or a small fish, yet it is described as colossal, spanning thousands of li (里, Ancient Chinese Units of Measurement). To interpret this as "several thousand li" is certainly not wrong, but to read it as "nearly," "approaching," or "reaching" is even better. "Zhuangzi" is given to wild and absurd fancy, yet it must also lend that wild absurdity a sense of authenticity — for only with authenticity does it carry conviction. In describing the small fish Kun as nearly a thousand li in size, there is a spirit of apparent empirical precision at work: what is plainly an extravagant and boundless exaggeration is made to display, against all odds, a quality of truthfulness and rigor.

In summary, "Free and Easy Wandering" expounds Zhuangzi's views on time and space, the universe, and transformation. All these philosophical concepts and categories are presented by Zhuangzi through stories, plots, and details. Within a clear and unhurried linguistic rhythm, mythological imagery unfolds at a leisurely pace, and through repetitive narrative techniques, the plot advances progressively, introducing the southern sea and the heavenly pool. Details, scenes, wonder, and suspense all enter into a realm reminiscent of fiction.

This article is reprinted from the WeChat public account "Muzhai Literary Lecture Hall (木齋文學講堂)"