Zhuangzi -
Perfect Man of Nanhua, one of the Four Heavenly Perfect Man of
Taoism
Life of Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi (ca. 369 BC - 286 BC) was a famous representative of
philosophical Daoism in the Warring States period. He was born at
Meng (present Shangqiu County, Henan Province) in the Song State,
and was named Zhou. He once worked as an official in a varnish tree
farm and then lived the life of a hermit with wide knowledge and
acquaintance. Zhuangzi lived a poor life, was devoted to the pure
cultivation of Tao, and despised fame and fortune. The King of the
State of Chu heard of his virtue and sent envoys to give him a gift
of a thousand pounds of gold and invite him to be the Prime
Minister. Zhuangzi refused and lived the life of a hermit all his
life, until he became an immortal. He wrote fifty-two essays in a
book entitled Zhuangzi or the Book of Master Zhuang1. Zhuangzi was
given the title "Perfect Man of Nanhua" by Emperor Xuanzong of the
Tang Dynasty, and the title "Perfect Sovereign of Numinous Subtlety
and Mysterious Pervasion" by Emperor Hui of the Song Dynasty.
Taoist Thought
Proficient in the philosophy of Laozi, Zhuangzi was an inheritor
and promoter of Taoist thinking. Historically, Laozi and Zhuangzi
have often been remembered collectively. In the Tang dynasty, the
government respected Zhuangzi as much as Laozi and made his
philosophy an official field of study.
Key ideas of Zhuangzi:
1. "Tao, with feeling and credit, formlessness and
Non-Interference, is transmittable but can't be received,
attainable but invisible. Self-rooted, it has existed eternally
before Heaven and Earth. It makes deities and spirits divine and
produces the Heavens and the Earth. Though higher than the Supreme
Ultimate, it is not high; though lower than the Six Extremes, it is
not low; though born before Heaven and Earth, it is not lasting;
though older than antiquity, it is not old". "Existing before
Heaven and Earth", Dao is the omnipresent root of everything.
2. "Viewed from the perspective of Tao, there is no difference of
nobility or humility between things." "The Great Tao does not
speak, and great words are not eloquent." Things should be viewed
from the perspective of Tao.
3. "The Higher Man has no self in mind; the Divine Man has no
accomplishments in mind, the Sage has no fame in mind." To be one
with Tao, one must "have no self". Through "Fasting the Mind",
"Sitting in Oblivion" and "Sudden Enlightenment", one can unite
with Tao.
4. In the society with the highest virtue, all people conform to
the great Tao. This is the ideal society.
Respect for life
Zhuangzi advocates respecting life and nourishing life instead of
being caught up by outside matters and being destroyed by desires.
So, when he was invited to be the Prime Minister by the two envoys
of the King of Chu, without even turning back his head, Zhuangzi
kept fishing quietly at the riverside and raised a question. He
said: "I heard that in the temple of the King, a huge tortoise was
worshipped and killed at the age of 3000. Please choose which is
better for the old tortoise: to be killed and worshipped, or to
live crawling in mud? The two envoys answered immediately: "To live
crawling in mud." Zhuangzi said smiling: "I'd rather be the
tortoise living in mud."
