A brief introduction to the Warring States thinker Zhuangzi. His surname was Zhuang, his given name was Zhou, and his courtesy name was Zixiu. He was a native of Meng in the Song Dynasty. He founded Zhuangxue, an important philosophical school in China. He was a representative figure of the Taoist school during the Warring States period after Laozi.

Zhuang Zhou is a descendant of the Song Dynasty, and his ancestors can be traced back to Song Daigong, the eleventh generation king of the Song Dynasty. Song Daigong is the ancestor of the Zhuang surname. Zhuang Zhou was born in Meng, a state of Song Dynasty.

Zhuang Zhou once served as a local Qiyuan official in the Song Dynasty. He was a contemporary of King Hui of Liang and King Xuan of Qi. With Zhuangzi’s talent and learning, he gained wealth and high position just like picking things out of a bag. However, Zhuang Zhou had no intention of becoming an official. In a short period of time, he worked as a minor official in charge of the lacquer garden.

Zhuangzi was knowledgeable and traveled to many countries. He studied and analyzed and criticized various schools of thought at that time. King Wei of Chu heard that he was very talented and learned, so he sent an envoy with generous gifts to invite him to become the prime minister. Zhuangzi smiled and said to the Chu envoy: "A thousand pieces of gold means great profits; a minister means high honors. But haven't you seen the sacrificial ox? Feed it for several years, then cover it with patterned brocade and lead it to At this time, it wants to be a little pig and avoid being slaughtered, but it can't be done. Go away, don't insult me. I'd rather be like a turtle in the mud. Happiness is not bound by the king of a country. I will not be an official in my life, so that I can be free and happy forever."

Zhuang Zhou's talent and learning should not be underestimated, but it must be attributed to Lao Tzu's words. Therefore, he wrote more than 100,000 words, most of which are fables. Zhuangzi should not be hired by King Wei of Chu because he advocated freedom. Later, he disliked his official career, lived in seclusion and wrote books, and became one of the representatives of the pre-Qin Taoist school. He is honored by later generations as the founder of Taoism, Nan Hua Zhenren, and one of the four great Taoist masters.

At that time, the princes were fighting for supremacy in the world. Zhuangzi did not want to join the ranks of the rulers, so he resigned and lived in seclusion, concentrating on studying Taoism. He greatly inherited and developed Lao Dan's thoughts, and is called the "ancestor of Taoism" together with Lao Tzu. He led "valuing life" and "for me" to "achieving life" and "forgetting self", which he attributed to the natural unity of "Tao" and "I".

The above is an introduction to Zhuangzi, a famous thinker during the Warring States Period. Next, let’s take a look at Zhuangzi’s famous sayings.

1. The friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, while the friendship between villains is as sweet as wine. "Zhuangzi? Mountain Trees"

Translation: The friendship between gentlemen is as thin as water, but the friendship between villains looks as sweet as wine. A true friend never talks about benefits.

2. My life has a limit, but my knowledge has no limit. "Zhuangzi? The Master of Health Preservation"

Translation Human life is limited, but knowledge is infinite. Use your limited life to devote your limited life to unlimited learning.

3. Phase and nothingness, mutuality and nothingness, mutuality and nothingness. "Zhuangzi? The Great Master"

Translation: Friendship with each other is in non-friendship, and mutual action is in inaction. To make friends, friendship should be achieved without intention, and mutual help should be achieved through inaction. This is the "irreconcilable friendship".

4. If you do nothing, you will have more than enough for the world; if you do something, you will have enough for the world. "Zhuangzi? The Way of Heaven"

Translation: If you do nothing, you will be able to take advantage of the world, and you will feel that you have more leisure; if you do something, you will be used by the world, and you will feel urgent and inadequate. Use nothingness, nature, and inaction to explain the rule of inaction.

5. There is no greater sorrow for a husband than the death of his heart, and the death of a human being is also the second most. "Zhuangzi? Tian Zifang"

Translation: The greatest sorrow is that the heart is as gray as death, the spirit is destroyed, and the death of the human body is still secondary. People need to have some spirit.

6. Don’t you know that Zhou’s dream is Hu Dieyu, and Hu Die’s dream is Zhou Yu? "Zhuangzi? On the Equality of Things"

Translation: I wonder if Zhuang Zhou turned into a butterfly in his dream, or if the butterfly turned into Zhuang Zhou in his dream? Zhuangzi spoke from his own experience and believed that dreams and awakening are no different; they are both materialized phenomena of Tao. Therefore, if we want to be consistent with the theory of things, we must first get rid of the idea of ????self and become one with all things.