Zhuangzi

c. 4th century BCE · China

First attested
280 BCEZhuangzi texts (Guo Xiang recension, c. 300 CE).

Liberate the mind from rigid conventions to wander freely in boundless open reality.

Warring States era Chinese philosopher who, along with Laozi, is the foundational figure of Daoism. Author of the inner chapters of the Zhuangzi, famous for parables such as the Butterfly Dream, Cook Ding carving an ox, and dialogues between mythical creatures exploring relativity and perspective.

Light

Playful flexibility, release from self-importance, and effortless intuitive skill.

Shadow

Relativism drifting into cynical inaction or lack of ethical boundary.

Sources and verification2 sources · 1 link

Primary source

Scholarship

Linked entries

  • Derives fromLaoziAttested

    Zhuangzi elaborates and plays with the foundational paradoxical metaphors established in the Daodejing.

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