(1) Born in a noble family, he lived in 387 BC during the Song and Meng Dynasties. An important historical event happened in the State of Chu, the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period: Wuqi Reform. This matter is of great significance to understanding Zhuang Zhou, so our story must start from here. In the six centuries from the Zhou Dynasty to the mid-Warring States period, with the appearance of ironware, the productivity developed greatly, and the so-called patriarchal natural and economic production mode of "men plowing and women weaving" and "a family of five with a hundred acres of land" was gradually formed; At the same time, an increasingly large leisure class appeared in various vassal States, with "fewer people living and more people eating", and the social class contradictions became increasingly acute and complicated. In this situation, people of insight in various countries began to advocate political reform in succession, trying to tear down the barrier of "no punishment for doctors, no courtesy for Shu Ren"; Some shrewd rulers are also willing to use these talents to enrich Qiang Bing and rule the Central Plains. Wuqi is one of the most famous. During the Warring States Period, there were three reformers: Li Kui of Wei, Wuqi of Chu and Shang Yang of Qin. As a talented historical figure, Wu Qi is handsome, heroic and shrewd: in order to unite the army in Lu against Qi, he can kill his wife himself in Qi; When Wei leads his troops, he can suck sores for the soldiers himself. But as a generation of heroes, he did make a life-class contribution to the prosperity of Chu. At the beginning of Chu, it was originally a backward and wild land. Due to superior natural conditions, warm and humid climate and beautiful mountains and rivers, Chu people developed rapidly with primitive romance and enthusiasm. By the time of the political reform in Wuqi, Chu had a large number of clansmen, was short of finance, was overwhelmed by "poor countries and weak soldiers", and social contradictions were about to intensify. When Chu was bereaved, Wu Qi came to Chu from Wei and advocated political reform. He was entrusted with an important task by the king of Chu. He advocated "donating officials who are not in a hurry, abolishing those who are alienated from the people, in order to support the land of contention." Specifically, it is necessary to lay off a group of idle and unattended officials and implement "reducing government." All the idle descendants under three generations of nobles were demoted to Shu Ren and left to fend for themselves. Then use the saved fiscal revenue to raise elite soldiers to compete with the vassal States of the Central Plains. In order to prevent the descendants of nobles who were demoted to Shu Ren from joining the rebellion, Wuqi ordered "letting the nobles go to a vast and empty land", that is, evacuating to the frontier, allowing them to reclaim land and live a self-reliant civilian life. Zhuang's family is "taking history as the surname". Chu Zhuangwang ascended the throne in 6 13 BC and died in 59 1 year BC. It has been more than 200 years since 59 1 to 387, with 30 years as a generation and three generations from Qing Zi's father to grandparents, so it is undoubtedly the object of relegation. When the King of Chu mourned in 3 18 BC, Wu Qi lost the protection of the kingship and became lonely and helpless. The dignitaries who were attacked by him immediately joined forces and entered the palace to kill Wuqi. Wuqi hugged the body of Ai Wang and was shot dead by disorderly arrows. However, those powerful people who participated in the rebellion committed the great crime of "Zong Yi", and King Su of Chu, who succeeded to the throne, destroyed "more than 70 families". It was about this time that Zhuangzi's parents and grandparents crossed the border and moved to the Mongolian land in the Song Dynasty in order to avoid the disaster of "Zong Yi". "It is generally believed that Zhuang Zhou was born in 369 BC, twelve years after the rebellion of the King of Chu. It must be a difficult process for a privileged aristocratic family to suddenly become a civilian, go into exile in a foreign country and stand on its own feet. As you can imagine, the doctor's childhood lived in a turbulent environment. Regardless of the lack of material life, there is no doubt that Zhuang Zhou's young mind suffered too much pressure prematurely. Such a childhood life experience, for Zhuang Zhou, who is gifted, is completely natural to form an introverted personality. Young Zhuang Zhou must have thought a lot of questions since he was a child. Because his family is highly educated, he must have read a lot of books in his ears. This is the most fundamental reason why Zhuangzi became a thinker, an irrational thinker who opposed tradition and alienation and emphasized inner spiritual cultivation.
2) Zhuang Zhou, devoted to the painting garden, grew up in depression and unhappiness, and was deeply puzzled by the ancient problems faced by human beings such as human survival, social norms and natural mysteries. This is a philosopher's anxiety, a desire to explore the truth, and an impulse to scientifically understand the mysteries of nature. However, people cannot live by truth. After reading and writing, he must find a job that can support his family. An exiled aristocratic descendant had no property to inherit, so Zhuangzi had to make a living by handicraft industry. Zhuang is a clever man. He can weave very fine sandals and make first-class lacquerware at that time, and he is very proficient in almost all handicrafts such as carpentry, potter, slaughtering, washing and dyeing. Sima Qian recorded that "Zhou Chang was an official in the lacquer garden", which proved that Zhuangzi had been a small official in the management of lacquer workshops because of his exquisite skills. Science originates from technology. Zhuangzi must have a profound understanding and experience of the nature of various substances in his handicraft labor practice. Through this experience, Jing entered the spiritual and philosophical realm of "understanding" and "Tao can't be said". In "Zhuangzi", Zhuangzi recorded many craftsmen's feelings and philosophical conclusions after hard thinking. For example, Qi Huangong is studying in class, and a carpenter is making wheels after class. The carpenter stopped his work and asked Huan Gong, "What are you looking at?" Duke Huan casually said, "the words of saints." "Is the saint still alive?" Duke Huan said, "It's dead". "So you only read the dross left by the ancients!" Huan Gong was furious and said, "I am studying here. Who are you to make irresponsible remarks? Today, if you say something ugly, you will be put to death. " The craftsman came to the classroom unhurriedly and said to Qi Huangong, "I learned this from making wheels. The mortise is loose and labor-saving, but it is not firm. If it's tight, it won't knock in for a long time. I can make the mortise a little looser and tighter, and then I can knock it in unhurriedly, get it in my hand and have a response in my heart. Although I can't say the size of this boring, my heart is countless. This number in my heart cannot be passed on to my son, nor can my son inherit it from me. So I'm sixty years old, and I'm still making wheels for you here. When the sage died, the most profound truth he realized disappeared with his death. What can be expressed in words can only be simple truth. So I said that the book you read is the dross left by the ancients. " In addition, "Zhuangzi" wrote: A Tu Dawei was slaughtered by Wen, touching his hands, leaning on his shoulders, stepping on his feet, pushing his knees, bayoneting, cutting his blade, cutting his roots and hitting the back of his knife. It has a sense of rhythm, as if he were dancing on the movement of Sanglin, and it seemed to be accompanied by the melody of scene blindness. Wen Huijun said, "Wow! That's great. Skills can be so high! " The butcher put down his knife and replied, "I like pottery, which has gone beyond the level of skill." Began to learn to slaughter cattle, cattle are comprehensive; Three years later, you can see the internal structure of bones, muscles and meridians of cattle at a glance. Now I don't need to see with my eyes. It seems that I am not exercising my hands and feet to kill cattle, but concentrating on the natural texture of cattle, cutting meat and bones, and cutting down along the natural structure of cattle without any major obstacles. I can even easily break down the joints of meridians. ..... I used this knife for nineteen years and killed thousands of cows, but the blade is as sharp as ever. Because there are gaps between bones, and the blade end has no thickness, it should be easy for a blade without thickness to enter the gap joint. So, after 19 years, my knife is as good as new. Although it's easy to say, you should concentrate on killing cattle when you encounter a knot in your bones and muscles. After seeing the key point, the knife moves gently, and the cow will disintegrate with a clash and pile up on the ground like mud. At this time, I stood there with a knife and looked around, feeling comfortable and satisfied, so I put away the cleaning knife. Wen said: "Good! After listening to these words, I even understood the truth of keeping in good health. "Zhuangzi" also recorded many exquisite skills like this, such as "hooking the horse" and "cutting the purple and blue ring" (bow, musical instrument. Ancient musical instruments, such as chimes, "Tianjin people operate boats" and so on. Most of them are works that express Zhuangzi's feelings in the name of others, including a lot of perceptual experience, intuitive imagination and logical reasoning. This meticulous experience in skills has become an inexhaustible source for the development of Zhuangzi's philosophical logic. He may not have been in charge of the lacquer workshop for long. Cao Shang went to the State of Qin to receive a reward, and then went to see Zhuangzi. He is playing straw sandals, and he probably plays straw sandals for a living again. So Zhuangzi spent his whole life in poverty. It is reported that he borrowed food from Jianhe Hou, and when he met the King of Wei, he was also in rags. Although this may also be to set off the lofty heart and highlight a theory of poverty tolerance, there is no doubt that Zhuangzi has lived an indifferent life in poverty all his life.