Zhuang Zi

Confucius was followed by Mencius，and Lao Zi by Zhuang Zi.In those cases，the first was the real teacher and either wrote no books or wrote very little，and the second began to develop the doctrines and wrote long and profound discourses.Zhuang Zi（c.369-286 B.C.）was separated from Lao Zi’s death by not quite two hundred years，and was strictly a contemporary of Mencius.Yet the most curious thing isthat although both these writers mentioned the other philosophers of the time，neither was mentioned by the other in his works.

Lao-Zhuang

It has been customary to speak of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi together as Lao-Zhuang.Zhuang Zi’s chief doctrines were based upon the sayings of Lao Zi.While Lao Zi emphasized difference between glory and disgrace，strength and weakness，and advocated the tender values and non-action，Zhuang Zi identified them all.Lao Zi aimed at reform，whereas Zhuang Zi’s goal was absolute spiritual emancipation andpeace，achieved through knowing the capacity and limitations of one’s own nature，nourishing it and adapting it to the universal process of transformation.He abandoned selfishness of all descriptions，be it fame，wealth，preferred to move in the realm of“great knowledge”and”profound virtue”，and travel beyond the mundane world.A11 these make him all the more Taoistic.His conception of the Wayof Heaven is colored by pantheism.He pit the principle of nature and spontaneity against artificiality，and the theory of relativism against dogmatism.

qingquang

See author's posts