Zhuangzi lived in a turbulent era, which made him feel bad about fame and fortune. At that time, academic thoughts were extremely active, and various schools of thought sprang up like mushrooms after rain, which made Zhuangzi's thoughts have certain contradictions. He sometimes criticized Confucius, sometimes praised Confucius, and even put forward "external king" in the world (Confucianism advocated "internal sage and external king"), which was contrary to Zhuangzi's consistent thought. This is the result of Zhuangzi's constant pursuit of his ideal and adherence to his creed, but influenced by external thoughts.
Wandering freely and the theory of everything are the themes of Zhuangzi's thoughts. After understanding these two articles, we will have an overall grasp of Zhuangzi's thoughts, and at the same time, it will also play a guiding role in understanding other chapters.
"Free travel" is divided into three parts. The first part discusses Dapeng, Yun, Xue Dafu and others, and puts forward arguments. The second part talks about "no self"; The third part talks about the unity of usefulness and uselessness, and explains why Zhuangzi thinks that usefulness and uselessness will be transformed.
The first part: (Central argument: "To a person who has no ego, a person who belongs to God is useless, and a saint is nameless")
In the first part, I will talk about some "waiting" things to show that everything is "waiting", so as to put forward my own views.
The "Supreme Person", "God Man" and "Sage" are people who Zhuangzi thinks are highly cultivated and perfect. "No self" means no self, that is, no self. "Reactive power" is inaction, which is usually called inaction (Zhuangzi's thought largely inherits Laozi). "Nameless" means unknown.
What is "no self", "no work" and "no name" in Zhuangzi Xiaoyao Tour is not clear, and it must be combined with the following chapters. Here, let me explain the theory of homogeneous objects juxtaposed with Xiaoyao. "Homology of things" has two meanings: 1, Homology of things (things that can be felt-of course, restricted by the times, Zhuangzi's thought has certain limitations. ); 2. Qi theory (human point of view). The so-called "qi" also means this. "Homogeneity" means that things are the same and theories are the same.
For things, heaven and earth are full of "Qi", and things are made of "Qi". Zhuangzi's pass the parcel is a typical example. Zhuangzi's wife died, but Zhuangzi's good friend Keiko saw Zhuangzi singing on a basin. Keiko was puzzled, but Zhuangzi said, "She (his wife) is essentially lifeless. Without life, there is no body, and without body, there is no breathing. Then something changed. With change, with breath. With breathing, a body appeared. With the body, there is life. Now she has returned to the essence. " Zhuangzi pointed out that people's life and death are the accumulation and dispersion of qi (see "Journey to the North"), and he also said: "Everyone in the world is in one ear" (Journey to the North), "Those who are yin and yang are also angry." (Zeyang) "Everything is One" (Xiaoyao Tour),
"Everything is a horse at the point of heaven and earth." (Homology of Things) and so on. Since things are made of qi and people are also made of qi, it is "no self".
"Reactive power" means inaction, but it is actually "inaction". Laozi advocates "inaction" very much. Doing nothing is nature, does not violate the development of nature, and does not destroy the development of nature with personal subjectivity. The nature here is not that nature, but can be understood by usage, nature and unpretentious.
"Nameless" means unknown. Happy Travel said: "A famous person is a real guest (secondary, derivative)." Zhuangzi doesn't like fame and fortune. There is a funny story in Autumn Water: Zhuangzi was fishing by the river, and the king of Chu sent an envoy to invite Zhuangzi to take a photo. Zhuangzi asked the messenger, "Do you think the turtle in the mud pond likes to wag its tail leisurely in the mud pond, or do you like to have it made into a specimen?" The envoy said, "wagging your tail in the mud pond will at least keep you alive." Zhuangzi said, "Well, go home. I am the tortoise. "
The second part: Three stories are used to demonstrate.
The first story is that Yao gave way. Xu You said, "If I have to deduce, should I pursue something secondary?" And euphemistically used several examples to demonstrate, including crossing the line. It is pointed out that we should understand that we are honest-"angry", not pursuing fame and gain, and "nameless".
The second story is that God is not afraid of everything. Why? Because God is everything, God integrates himself with everything, saying that the waste he left behind can also be a saint like Yao and Shun. This is the sum of heaven and earth. The diversity of everything means that the composition of qi is different.
The third story is that Song people bought hats, but failed. Because people don't use hats where he buys them. This shows that you can't do anything and you are doomed to fail. The view against inaction.
the third part
Is the conversation between Keiko and Zhuangzi useful or not? Zhuangzi thinks there is no difference between useful and useless, because they are all qi, and there is no difference. However, Zhuangzi also believes that to overcome the disadvantages, we can't stay on things. If you don't stay in things, you will have nothing to do.
Wandering freely is the ideological basis of Zhuangzi. Only "no self", "no work" and "no name" can "roam freely", which is the absolute spiritual freedom that he has to pursue constantly.
Artistic feature
"I can't talk about' free and unfettered', and I can't talk about Thirty Articles in South China." These two poems in Ma Xulun's "A Poem about Proving the Success Rate of Zhuang Ziyi" fully affirmed the important value of the word "carefree travel" in interpreting the classics of southern history and approaching Zhuangzi. What is "carefree", Zhuangzi has his own conclusion: "Take the meaning of heaven and earth, resist the debate of six qi, and swim endlessly." In other words, it is absolutely free to wander freely, without attachments, fetters and dependence, and to wander in the spiritual world. Therefore, it is not easy to fly to Dapeng, Wan Li, because "those who go to rest in June are also"; A person with superior intelligence and noble moral character, whether serving as an official, benefiting one party or being in power during the Ninth Five-Year Plan, will not get away with it because of the bondage of fame and fortune; Song Zi Rong, regardless of right and wrong, lost his reputation and was not at large because there was a distinction between things and me; Lieyuzi traveled around the world against the wind, and was not happy because of "staying". How to treat fame and self is the key to happiness. Therefore, only those who wander around the universe and forget themselves, godless people who are useless and give up fame and fortune, and saints who are anonymous and disdainful of honor and disgrace can enter the carefree realm. However, how many people can see through the world and keep peace? Therefore, Zhuangzi vividly shows his disdain for fame and fortune with fables such as "following behind his tail", "eating rotten mice" and "living in Ceng Zi", explains the fundamental reason why he can "roam freely", and points out the only way to freedom for people struggling in vanity fair.
In Zhuangzi, it is claimed that one of its creative methods is "fable" and "Fable 19". It is Zhuangzi's characteristic to reason with fables. The protagonists of these fables, whether they are sages of gods, fish, insects, birds and beasts, are the products of Zhuangzi's unparalleled imagination, the portrayal of all kinds of people in troubled times and their profound philosophical thoughts. Isn't the tortoise in Selected Works Zhuangzi who ignores fame, is content with poverty and enjoys himself? Isn't an owl who regards rotten rats as delicacies and is always worried about people competing for food a villain who is addicted to the official sea and suffers from loss? Ceng Zi, whose clothes are ragged and his face is swollen, changed the image of a dutiful son in The Book of Filial Piety, that is, "His parents are physically and mentally ill and dare not harm", and refused to be an emperor, a vassal, and to seek the Tao and forget his heart. Is it not a Taoist disciple who pursues quietism? These vivid images and rich imagination not only constitute the wanton language features of Zhuangzi's prose "Wang Yang", but also convey his profound and mysterious thoughts, which are easy to understand and easily mentioned, which is really amazing!