ZhuangziDaoist literature

Main

Aspects of this topic are discussed in the following places at Britannica.

Assorted References

  • Chinese literature ( in Chinese literature: Prose )

    ...not only is three times longer than the Analects of Confucius but also is topically and more coherently arranged. The same characteristic may be noticed in the authentic chapters of the Chuang-tzu, attributed to the Taoist sage Chuang-tzu, who “in paradoxical language, in bold words, and with subtle profundity, gave free play to his imagination and thought. . . . Although...

  • discussed in biography of Zhuangzi ( in Zhuangzi: Life )

    Zhuangzi is best known through the book that bears his name, the Zhuangzi, also known as Nanhua zhenjing (“The Pure Classic of Nanhua”). At about the turn of the 4th century ce, Guo Xiang, the first and perhaps the best commentator on the Zhuangzi, established the work as a primary source for Daoist thought. It is composed of 33 chapters, and...

  • Lao-tzu ( in Daoism: Laozi and the Daodejing )

    ...as the Laozi, or the Daodejing (“Classic of the Way of Power”). The first mention of Laozi is found in another early classic of Daoist speculation, the Zhuangzi (4th–3rd century bce), so called after the name of its author. In this work Laozi is described as being one of Zhuangzi’s own teachers, and the same book contains many of the...

  • Taoist saints ( in saint: Confucianism and Taoism )

    ...the attainment of a passionless unity with the Absolute. Chuang-tzu (died c. 300 bc), a mystical Taoist sage, speaks of the “pure men of early times” in his work, the Chuang-tzu, and characterizes them as such.

Citations

MLA Style:

"Zhuangzi." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 09 Jan. 2009 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/116724/Zhuangzi>.

APA Style:

Zhuangzi. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved January 09, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/116724/Zhuangzi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Link to this article and share the full text with the readers of your Web site or blog-post.

If you think a reference to this article on "Zhuangzi (Daoist literature)" will enhance your Web site, blog-post, or any other web-content, then feel free to link to this article, and your readers will gain full access to the full article, even if they do not subscribe to our service.

You may want to use the HTML code fragment provided below.

copy link

We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.

Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.

A-Z Browse

Image preview