庄子_英文_.pdfVIP

笤国学精萃笤 Zhuangzi 庄 子 崔 刚 */选注 huangzi is, after Laozi, one of the earliest thinkers to contribute to the philosophy that has come to be known as Taoism. His work Zhuangzi is considered as one of Zthe definitive1 texts of Taoism and is thought to be more comprehensive than Tao Te Ching, which is attributed to Laozi, the first philosopher of Taoism. Zhuangzi is ranked among the greatest of literary and philosophical giants that China has produced. His teach- ings also exerted a great influence on the development of Chinese Buddhism and had consid- erable effect on Chinese landscape painting2 and poetry. ’ In spite of his importance, details of Zhuangzi s life are unknown. According to the great Han Dynasty historian, Sima Qian, Zhuangzi was a native of the town of Meng, his per- sonal name was Zhou, and he was a minor official at Qiyuan in his hometown.3 He lived dur- ing the reign of King Wei of Chu and was therefore a contemporary of Mencius, an eminent ’ “ ” Confucian scholar known as China s Second Sage , but there appeared to have little com- munication between them.4 What we know of the philosophy of Zhuangzi comes primarily from the book that bears 5 his name, Zhuangzi. In general, his philosophy is mildly skeptical , arguing that our life is