A Chinese philosopher of the Warring States period, traditionally credited with the core inner chapters of the text that bears his name, one of the two foundational works of philosophical Daoism alongside the Tao Te Ching. Zhuangzi is known for a thoroughgoing relativism about human perspectives and values, illustrated in parables such as the butterfly dream, in which the philosopher wakes uncertain whether he is a man who dreamed he was a butterfly or a butterfly now dreaming he is a man, and for the ideal of wu wei, effortless non-striving action in accordance with the natural course of things. His exact dates and biography are known only through later, partly legendary accounts.
Facts
Disputed
Birth Year369 BCE
Traditional dates (roughly 369 to 286 BCE) rest on later biographical accounts rather than contemporary records; scholars treat the precise years as approximate. Death Year286 BCE
See the birth-year note: known only from later, partly legendary accounts. TraditionClassical Chinese philosophy, Daoism 2 Connections
Associated With
Laozi, Philosophers Why this is disputed. Zhuangzi is traditionally read as extending Laozi's thought, but the historical relationship between the two, and even whether Laozi was a single person, is unresolved; see the open question recorded on Laozi.
In Branch
Traditions Founded
Zhuangzi is credited as the school's second foundational figure, extending Laozi's themes through parable rather than being its earliest source.
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Works Attributed
Zhuangzi, Works Why this is disputed. Traditional attribution to Zhuang Zhou is not seriously disputed for the seven inner chapters; modern scholarship holds the outer and miscellaneous chapters were added by later authors over centuries, so authorship of the text as a whole is not a single-author claim.
Source Zhuangzi (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: China, originated there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Zhuangzi
WikipediaLead, opening sentenceQuote, Lead, opening sentence
Zhuangzi may refer to:
Zhuangzi (book) (莊子), an ancient Chinese collection of anecdotes and fables, one of the foundational texts of Taoism
Zhuang Zhou (莊周), the historical figure known as "Master Zhuang" ("Zhuangzi") and traditional author of the eponymous book
Old Zhuang script (古壮字, the script u
2. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
s.v. ZhuangziQuote, s.v. Zhuangzi
The text is ranked among the greatest of literary and philosophical masterpieces that China has produced.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and InformationTraditions Founded: DaoismView the Source Zhuangzi (Wikipedia)
WikipediaWorks Attributed: Zhuangzi, IntroductionQuote, Works Attributed: Zhuangzi, Introduction
It was written during the late Warring States period (476-221 BC) and is named for its traditional author, Zhuang Zhou.
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