Yang Zhu's theory was unique in the Warring States period, contending with Confucianism and Mohism. Although Yang's theory was a school of its own, it was absorbed and accommodated by later Taoists because of its similarity with Taoism. Yang's research has been criticized as the extreme egoism of "pulling a gross profit and not doing it", which is despised by the world and has almost no place to stand. It disappeared in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and it was not until Liezi reprinted by Zhang Zhan in the Eastern Jin Dynasty that Yang Zhu's ideological outlook resurfaced. Therefore, Zhang Zhan called this article one of the "only survivors" in Liezi Preface. Some scholars think that Yang Zhu's theory of "for me" is the product of Wei and Jin Dynasties, and it is inevitable that it is arbitrary. It should be said that it was Yang Zhu's thought during the Warring States Period.

This article consists of fifteen fables, and the full text can be divided into three main points. First, about life and death. Yang Zhu put forward that life is death, so is everyone. There is a difference between being virtuous and being poor, but death belongs to rotten bones. Yao, Shun, Jie and Zhou were all rotten bones after their death. Therefore, "it's interesting to be alive and interesting after Yi Xi's death". Second, pay attention to yourself and enjoy life. Yang Zhu pointed out that life is the most precious thing in a person's life, and people are prone to die when they are born, so we should cherish this short life very much. If you want to live happily, saving me is the most important thing. Don't hurt it in any way. If you leave, you will never come again. Poverty will not harm life, and wealth will not make life tired. "It's no good to lose a penny in the world, and it's no good to take anything in the world" and "Wisdom is valuable, saving me is more valuable", which shows that everyone lets "wisdom" exert its subjective ability to preserve their rationality. Third, complete fidelity. The whole is to conform to nature, and the existing lunch is full of life. Things are easy to enjoy when they are healthy, but they are irreversible and envy life. As long as it is "rich in clothes and original beauty", it is enough to satisfy the enjoyment of life. Don't be greedy, don't hurt your life for foreign things. Loyalty is to keep the authenticity of my body given by nature and not lose the joy of that year; Follow your heart and do not go against nature; Swim with your heart, not against everything; Don't pity the fame of the moment, don't covet the glory after death; If you don't envy longevity, fame, status and wealth, you can be fearless of ghosts, people, power and punishment, keep and conform to nature, and control your own destiny.

Although the above ideas cannot be said to be exactly the same as Taoism, they can at least be said to be friends of Taoism.