Introduction to "Zhuangzi"

A collection of writings by Zhuangzhou and his successors. Zhuang Zhou (about 369 BC - 286 BC) was a native of Mongolia in the Song Dynasty (now northeast of Shangqiu, Henan). At the same time as King Hui of Liang and King Xuan of Qi, he served as an official in Qiyuan. King Wei of Chu heard about his talent and hired him as his prime minister. If he didn't take the job, he would be impoverished for the rest of his life. His parallel events can be found briefly in "Historical Records: Biography of Laozi and Han Fei".

"Zhuangzi" is one of the Taoist classics. According to "Hanshu Yiwenzhi", there are 52 chapters in "Zhuangzi". There are 33 chapters in existence today, including 7 internal chapters, 15 external chapters, and 11 miscellaneous chapters, all of which were annotated by Guo Xiang. The ideas, structure, and writing style of the inner chapters are relatively consistent, and it is generally believed that they were written by Zhuang Zhou. The outer and miscellaneous chapters contain works from later scholars, and even incorporate individual chapters from other schools. Their ideological viewpoints are often different from those of the inner chapters. For example, in philosophy, there is not only the idealistic way of nothingness, but sometimes it is given some materiality, with a color of materialism; in politics, it sometimes advocates absolute inaction, and sometimes advocates that those above do nothing and those below do something. ; In terms of attitude towards life, sometimes they advocate living in the world, and sometimes they support escaping from the world; in terms of outlook on life, sometimes they advocate few desires, and sometimes they advocate indulgence; in terms of attitudes towards other schools of thought, they sometimes insist on being mixed and consistent, and sometimes they are tit for tat. These differences reflect the development and differentiation of Taoist schools under the social changes from the middle of the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, and also reflect the mutual penetration of various schools. But overall speaking, the ontology of idealism, the cyclic theory of relativism, cognitive agnosticism, the political proposition of inaction, and the nihilistic philosophy of life constitute the basic tendencies of Zhuangzi's school. At the same time, there are many dialectical elements in the book, especially the exposure and criticism of the dark side of society, which is very profound and spares no effort.

As for the origin of Zhuangzi’s thought, Sima Qian pointed out: “It must be attributed to Laozi’s words” and “the art of Ming Laozi” ("Historical Records: Biography of Laozi and Han Fei"). The book contains many slanderous comments on Confucianism, Mohism and other prominent schools of the time, and shows a cynical spirit.

"Zhuangzi" is also an outstanding literary work. Although what the author wants to expound is the mysterious way of heaven, because he "takes the world to be dull and turbulent, it cannot be compared with Zhuang Yu", so he "uses words as mantras, tautology as truth, and fables as broadness" ("The World") , especially the extensive use of fables, depicting the abstract and misty way of heaven as if it can be felt and understood. Other Zishu also use fables, but most of them are quoted from historical legends and folk tales; "Nineteen Fables" in "Zhuangzi" are mostly fictitious by the author. The fables in other books are mostly short stories, inserted into discussions to provide metaphors or arguments; while some of the fables in "Zhuangzi" are expanded into chapters, and the author's comments are put into the mouths of the characters in the story. For example, "Stealing Zhi", "Autumn Water", "Shuo Jian", etc. are all "writing a person's name, making him look like and speaking, and sending words to the person" (Liu Xiang's "Bielu"). These fables, which are similar to short stories, have fictitious characters and plots, including actions, dialogues, portraits, and expressions. They are very different from some conversational quotations based on actual records in "Mozi" and "Mencius". This is the beginning of the conscious use of fictional means to shape images in the history of Chinese literature. When shaping the image, the author is good at describing the objects in detail. For example, the angry flying of Dapeng ("Xiaoyaoyou"), the excitement of giant fish ("Foreign Objects"), Hongmeng's complacency ("In"), and the cleverness of mountain snipers ("Xu Wugui") are all lifelike; The wind makes all the orifices roar ("Qi Wu Lun"), the Yellow Emperor plays the music of Xianchi and the sound fills the sky and the earth ("Tianyun"), all of which are full of emotion; the cook Ding unifies the ox ("The Lord of Health"), and Bole governs the horse ("The Lord of Health") "Horse Hoof"), Ricky Chengxu ("Dasheng"), Zhuang Zique ("Mountain Tree"), Zhongshi Huatu ("Tian Zifang"), Yuan Xianju Lu ("Rang Wang"), all of them are present in form and spirit. ; As for the gods on Miaogushe Mountain ("Xiaoyaoyou"), Nanguo Ziqi who is sitting in hiding ("Qiwu Lun"), the pot that can defeat Ji Xian's fortune telling ("Ying Emperor"), Linyuan The situation of these miraculous images such as Bohunnuo who is walking in danger and shooting at him ("Tian Zifang") can also be imagined according to the description. In short, the descriptions of space, rivers and seas, birds, beasts, music, wind and clouds, as well as the portraits, psychology, words and deeds of characters, all "refer to things and emotions" ("Historical Records: Biography of Laozi and Han Fei"), which are vivid and lifelike, greatly opening up the world. reached the realm of art.

"Zhuangzi" is also known for its rich imagination and flexible structure. "Historical remarks, ridiculous words, and gratuitous remarks are sometimes indulgent but not tactful, and are not based on surprises. . . . Although his books are neat and coherent, there is no damage; although his words are uneven, they are strange and impressive." ("The World"). This is a confession of the author's writing characteristics. Based on nothing, the sea and the sky are vast, indulgent and free, magnificent, humorous and weird.

The roc spreads its wings for thousands of miles, the North Sea is as empty as a valley ("Autumn Waters"), the thieves' soles are fierce in sound and look ("The Robbers"), and Zhuang Zhou turned into a butterfly ("Equality of Things"). All these show that the author does not follow the original reality of real life. Instead of using faces to represent life, he uses rich imagination, bizarre exaggeration, and a large number of metaphors and personification techniques to express his feelings. In terms of writing concept, it should be open and closed, without falling into the beginning and end, and there will be no trace of transition. The literary thoughts are jumping, scattered and knotted, opening and closing without reason, making the readers confused. Just as Liu Xizai said: "The most wonderful thing about writing is that it can fly." Zhuangzi said Peng 'fly in anger'. Looking at his writing now, it is unprovoked. "Come and leave for no reason, almost no chance of 'flying'." ("Yi Gai·Wen Gai")

It is rich in lyrical meaning, which is also a major feature of the prose of "Zhuangzi". When the author describes or discusses Taoist ideals, he does so with enthusiasm. For example, it is said that "Guan Yin, Lao Danhu, the ancient Bodhisattva is the real person!" ("The World"). For the ignorant king and rebellious ministers, hypocritical gentlemen, and those who seek fame and fortune, they show hatred as much as hatred, often giving bitter satires and ruthlessly exposing them. He dared to say, "Those who steal hooks will be punished, and those who steal the country will be princes. In the gates of princes, benevolence and righteousness exist." It is called "cutting Zeng and Shi's journey, clamping the mouths of Yang and Mo", and "destroying the sacred law of the world" ("Zi"). Cao Shang's request for an official position was regarded as a licking hemorrhoids ("Lie Yu Kou"), and Hui Shi's exclusive position was compared to a carrion-eating rat ("Autumn Water"). Either love or hate, praise or disparage, laugh and curse, whip into the inside. The prose of "Zhuangzi" is ever-changing, and it is always inseparable from the author's self-expression. Oak trees, swimming fish, butterflies, fishermen, wild horses, sea turtles, etc. all have Zhuang Zhou's character and reflect Zhuang Zhou's certain mental state. Therefore, even though it is a theoretical article, it is full of charm when I read it. Among them, the chapters "Horse Hoof" and "Horse Suitcase" can be regarded as lyrical essays. In addition, his rich vocabulary, flexible sentence structure, exquisite conception, frequent use of rhymes, and good use of connected metaphors are also beyond the reach of his contemporaries. Therefore, Lu Xun believed: "His writing is as vast as the ocean, and his manners are infinite. The works of all the scholars in the late Zhou Dynasty cannot be preceded by them." ("Outline of the History of Chinese Literature")

"Zhuangzi" in literature The impact is great. Since Song Yu, Jia Yi, and Sima Qian, almost all great writers in the past dynasties have been influenced by it. In terms of thought, either he is cynical and does not associate with the rulers; or he is pessimistic and negative, self-deprecating and self-deprecating. Regarding the art of "Zhuangzi", one either admires it, or imitates it, or draws materials from it and makes it one's own. Ruan Ji, Tao Yuanming, Li Bai, and Su Shi all absorbed a lot of nutrients from Zhuangzi in terms of thought and art.

In the two chapters of "Zhuangzi", "Liu Yu Ke" and "Mountain Wood", it is clearly stated that Zhuang Zhou had disciples, but their names were not given. The Zhuangzi school can be seen in the chapters of "Guanzi" such as "Psychology" and "White Heart", "Han Feizi" such as "Main Dao" and "Yangquan", especially many chapters of "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" and "Huainan Zi" trace. It seems that its learning was quite popular in Chu and Qin areas. The Qin Dynasty exclusively practiced the rule of law, while the Han Dynasty only respected Confucianism, so the book "Zhuangzi" was not highly praised. This book became popular only after He Yan, Ruan Ji and Ji Kang published it during the Three Kingdoms period. Chen Shou's "Three Kingdoms·Book of Wei·Cao Zhi Biography" mentioned that He Yan liked the old man and Zhuang Zhi's words, and "The Biography of Wang Can" mentioned that Ruan Ji took Zhuang Zhou as his model, and Ji Kang liked the old man and Zhuang Zhi's words, "So Cui, Xiang Xiu, and Guo Xiang , Sima Biao and others successively commented on it, and the customs have also changed." (Hong Liangji's "The First Record of Xiaochu Study Studio"). During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Zhuangzhou was respected as the "True Man of Nanhua" and "Zhuangzi" was regarded as the "True Sutra of Nanhua". The trend of annotating "Zhuangzi" became increasingly popular. Cheng Xuanying Cheng Guo's annotation "Nanhua Zhenjing Commentary" focuses on textual exegesis. Later, in the Song Dynasty, there was Chu Boxiu's "The Compilation of the Yihai of Nanhua Zhenjing", in the Ming Dynasty, there was Jiao's "Zhuangzi Yi", in the Qing Dynasty, there were Guo Qingfan's "Collected Commentary on Zhuangzi" and Wang Xianqian's "Collected Commentary on Zhuangzi", all of which are representative works of "Zhuangzi" annotation in each period. .

Guo Xiang's "Zhuangzi Zhuangzi" is the earliest extant annotated version. Except for some chapters that are preserved in Dunhuang Tang manuscripts, the "Xuguyi Series" is the best copy of the Song Dynasty version. Guo Qingfan's "Collected Commentary on Zhuangzi" published by Zhonghua Book Company was edited by Wang Xiaoyu and based on the Song Dynasty version. It absorbed the advantages of the Tang manuscript and is currently a relatively complete version.