Zhuang Zi: The Classic of Daoism

This Daoist Classic originated from the Warring States period of ancient China (475-221 BCE). The ideas of Zhuang Zi are sometimes quite abstruse and are not as accessible as those of Plato; nor are they suited to the Western preference for linear methods of exposition. But he does reveal a remarkably sophisticated philosophical outlook; a gentle, if sometimes, provocative humour; and, incidentally, displays and affirms our common humanity despite the passage of over two thousand years. Zhuang Zi writes mainly using allegory and example. The Western preference is for complex clarity; even if, it would appear, that assumed clarity is deceptive. This new translation was undertaken because it was felt that earlier translations were not very sympathetic to Zhuang Zi's Daoism and his latent anarchism; and they tended to smother the former in theistic concepts whilst obscuring the latter as much as they could. It is felt that this new translation brings a greater clarity to a significant number of passages.