Chuang Tzu: Mystic, Moralist, and Social Reformer

Compared with the "miscellaneous" chapters, these latter referring to the "Outer" chapters mentioned on the previous page seem to have been grouped together because they explain a single principle in terms that are easier to understand. Meanwhile, the "miscellaneous" chapters cover several distinct lines of thought and are altogether more difficult to understand original: "abstruse". The arrangement is unsystematic original: "unscientific", and it was likely this lack of order that led Su Dongpo original: "Su Tung-p'o," a famous Song dynasty poet and official to conclude that the division into chapters happened in a later era. He regards chapters 29 through 32 as fake original: "spurious", even though the great historian Sima Qian original: "Ssŭ-ma Ch'ien" refers to two of these as being the work of Chuang Tzu. Indeed, some have argued that only the "Inner" original: "inside" chapters (1–7) were actually written by Chuang Tzu himself. However, most of the other chapters—excluding 29 through 32—contain the unmistakable marks of a master's hand. Chapter 17, because of its beautiful imagery, has earned its author the affectionate nickname original: "sobriquet" of "Chou of the Autumn Floods" Zhuang Zhou (Chuang Tzu) is the author's personal name; "The Autumn Floods" is one of his most famous chapters..

It must be remembered that for centuries, Chuang Tzu has been classified as a heterodox writer someone whose ideas differ from the officially accepted or "orthodox" doctrines of the state. His work was a reactionary effort against the materialism of Confucian teachings. Throughout his writing, he was hardly restrained in his language. He treats Confucius with a level of disrespect original: "in language" that no modern scholar original: "literate" could support. Nevertheless, the beauty and power of his language are facts admitted by everyone. He is frequently quoted in the great standard dictionary the Kangxi Zidian which bears the name of the Emperor Kangxi original: "K'ang Hsi".

However, a familiarity with the philosophy of Chuang Tzu would not help a candidate seeking honors in the competitive civil service examinations, which are the gateways to official positions and power. Consequently, Chuang Tzu is studied mainly by older men who have retired from office, or by those who have been disappointed in their careers. Those also who are...