庄子

庄子

庄子（约前369—前286），战国中期著名哲学家、文学家，道家学派代表人物，与老子并称“老庄”。庄子崇尚自由，曾担任管理漆树园的小吏，后来辞官过着隐居生活。庄子最早提出“内圣外王”思想，其代表作收录于《庄子》。

庄子把宇宙看成起源于“道”的一个有机整体。庄子认为，“道”的存在先于宇宙万物，又在万物之中无所不在，万物都是“道”的一部分。“道”是宇宙万物运动的法则， 其驱使万物而不受万物驱使，自然也是一切人类行为、思想的真正主宰。人如果得“道”，便获得了无限和自由。庄子将这种境界称为“逍遥”，“逍遥”就是心灵不被功名利禄等外物所拖累的自由自在、无拘无束的状态。

庄子擅长用寓言故事表达哲学主张，用神话传说的人物甚至山木骷髅、走兽昆虫来演绎故事，表达自己的哲学，对中国哲学思想和文学艺术发展产生了深远影响。

Zhuangzi

Zhuangzi (c. 369-286 B.C.) was a famous philosopher and literary writer during the middle Warring States period (475-221 BC). A representative figure of the Taoist school of philosophy, he is often mentioned together with Laozi as "Lao-Zhuang". He began his career as a minor official managing a lacquer tree garden. Later, he resigned from his position to live a reclusive life. He was the first to propose the idea of the inner virtues in a ruler. His signature works were collected in the Zhuangzi.

Zhuangzi saw the universe as an organic whole that originated from the "Tao". The Tao exists before all things and is omnipresent in all things; everything is part of the Tao. The Tao drives everything but is not driven by anything, and it is in control of all human behavior and thought. If anybody reaches the level of the Tao, they have achieved infinity and complete freedom. Zhuangzi referred to this state as "xiaoyao" or freedom from all restraints – spiritual liberation that enables a person to transcend worldly concerns.

Zhuangzi was adept at expressing philosophical ideas through fables. He created fables with figures from myths and legends, or even mountains, plants, skeletons, animals and insects, to illustrate his philosophical ideas, which had a far-reaching effect on China's philosophy as well as the development of literature and art.