Philosophically, Zhuangzi inherited and developed Laozi's thought, holding that "Tao" is an objective and real existence, and regarded "Tao" as the origin of all things in the universe. He said: "The truth of Tao is to cultivate one's morality. Thought thinks of the country and the country thinks of the world." (Zhuangzi Jean Wang) It means that the essence of the avenue is used for self-cultivation, its surplus is used for governing the country, and its dross is used for educating the world.
He also said: "Heaven never shuts one door but he opens another, life never shuts one door, and fame never shuts one door. As the saying goes, friends are true." (Zhuangzi Qiushui) means, don't destroy nature for man's sake, don't destroy life for the sake of sophistication, don't sacrifice your fame and fortune for greed, and stick to heaven and never lose it. This is the return to nature.
He inherited and developed Laozi's view that Tao is nature, which is infinite, self-rooted and ubiquitous, emphasizing the self-development of things and denying the domination of God. Put forward "one ear in the world", "people are angry and live, and people are scattered and die." His thought contains simple dialectical factors.
Second, political thought.
Zhuangzi opposes "man-made", and the ideal society is the so-called "virtuous world". The Emperor of Zhuangzi: "The emperor of the North Sea is neglected, and the emperor of the central government is chaotic. Dan and Hu suddenly reported the virtue of troubled times, saying,' Everyone has seven plans to eat and listen. This is unique, try to chisel,' one day to dig a hole, seven days to die'. "This is a fable that advocates nature and opposes man-made.
In addition, Zhuangzi opposed the Confucian concept of hierarchy and thought that "the monarch, the minister and the son", while Zhuangzi thought that "Tao is one", Tao is among all things, and all things are equal.
Third, literary thought.
Zhuangzi advocated "harmony between man and nature" and "governing by doing nothing". His theory covered all aspects of social life at that time, but his spirit still converted to Laozi's philosophy. Zhuangzi once worked as a painter and lived in poverty, but he despised wealth, power, fame and fortune, trying to maintain an independent personality in troubled times and pursue carefree spiritual freedom.
Feudal emperors paid special attention to Zhuangzi's important contribution in the history of China literature and thought. In the 25th year of Tang Kaiyuan, Zhuangzi was named "South China Real Person". Zhuangzi is also known as the Southern Classic of China. His articles are full of romanticism and have a far-reaching influence on later literature.
Fourth, the idea of traveling around the world.
Traveling around the world is an important part of Zhuangzi's thought. In the thirty-three chapters of Zhuangzi, most chapters focus on the theme of relieving the pain of life with a game attitude, especially the seven chapters. The ancients talked about Zhuangzi's idea of traveling around the world.
Some people even say that the word "tour" is the center of Zhuangzi. Modern Zhuangzi studies pay more attention to Taoist thought and despise the thought of wandering the world. On the one hand, it is because modern academic research has a specific problem consciousness, and on the other hand, it is because Youshi's thought seems to only put forward a negative proposition to avoid contradictions, which is a bit lacking.
Of course, the academic circles attach great importance to "carefree travel", but this is because "carefree travel" involves the topic of "pursuing spiritual freedom" and usually attracts people's respect. Therefore, talking about "carefree travel" is essentially talking about spiritual freedom. As an attitude towards the existence of the game world, "wandering world" is rarely taken seriously.
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Major achievements
Zhuang Zhou wrote hundreds of words in his life, with the title of Zhuangzi. The appearance of this document indicates that during the Warring States period, China's philosophical thoughts and literary language have developed to a very profound level, and it is a treasure in China's ancient books.
Therefore, Zhuangzi is not only a famous thinker in the history of China philosophy, but also an outstanding writer in the history of China literature. No matter in philosophy or literary language, he had a far-reaching and great influence on China's thinkers and writers, and played a very important role in the history of China's thoughts and literature.
The influence of later generations
The most striking thing about Zhuangzi is his theory of "getting away with impunity", and the realm of life created by Zhuangzi is the most elegant and innovative. As the saying goes, "don't disgrace your mission, just look at the flowers in front of the court; I have no intention of staying, and I am covered in clouds. "
In ancient China, no dynasty or scholar could invent and develop the metaphysical ontology of Zhuangzi's core content. The metaphysical Zhuangzi in the Warring States Period was real, but Zhuangzi's inheritance to later generations was a dotted line.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Zhuangzi