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."
