Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings

Posted on 02 October 2018 by Zhuangzi

The basic writings of Chuang Tzu have been savored by Chinese readers for over two thousand years And Burton Watson s lucid and beautiful translation has been loved by generations of readers.Chuang Tzu 369 286 B.C was a leading philosopher representing the Taoist strain in Chinese thought Using parable and anecdote, allegory and paradox, he set forth, in the book that bears his name, the early ideas of what was to become the Taoist school Central to these is the belief that only by understanding Tao the Way of Nature and dwelling in its unity can man achieve true happiness and freedom, in both life and death Chuang Tzu Basic Writings includes the seven inner chapters, which form the heart of the book, three of the outer chapters, and one of the miscellaneous chapters Watson also provides an introduction, placing the philosopher in relation to Chinese history and thought.Witty and imaginative, enriched by brilliant imagery, and making sportive use of both mythological and historical personages including even Confucius , this timeless classic is sure to appeal to anyone interested in Chinese religion and culture. Free Read Kindle ePUB Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings Author Zhuangzi – kino-fada.fr This book contains the inner chapters, not the entire Chuang Tzu, but generally considered the essential and least corrupt chapters It s one of my favorite books, and after reading Watson s translation I m unable to read anyone else s it s wonderful and there are quite a few weak versions, and weaker paraphrases Of the Chinese classics I ve read this is not only the most subtle and profound, it s sometimes absolutely hilarious His parodies of Confucianism are a riot, his magical This book contains the inner chapters, not the entire Chuang Tzu, but generally considered the essential and least corrupt chapters It s one of my favorite books, and after reading Watson s translation I m unable to read anyone else s it s wonderful and there are quite a few weak versions, and weaker paraphrases Of the Chinese classics I ve read this is not ...GR keeps asking me if I ve read this book because I ve read Tao Te Ching Well, I have read Chuang Tzu s writings in Japanese translation that comes with the original Chinese texts and footnotes Chinese characters represent not only the phonetics but also the meanings, and many modern Japanese translations of Chinese classics contain the or...I am probably the wrong sort of person to read this sort of book.I felt the philosopher made a lot of nebulous and unrelated metaphors in an attempt to explain universal truths And also I did not agree with what the philosopher regar...I can t decide if I learnt something, or nothing at all.This book has a mystic s tone, in just the same way that Wittgenstein s TLP does As a translation, Burton Watson makes a great companion and the foreword provides the necessary context to read the work, illuminative for those who are unfamiliar with Eastern philosophy His many footnotes were helpful in understanding the text as well.As a philosophy, readers from the western analytic tradition might be left uncomfortable The work i...I ve read this a number of times and I ve read other translations for me Burton Watson is the best the humor shines through and the language Watson uses in his translation is clear and precise He also provides useful footnotes which are located on the same page as the textHere s a famous sample using the famous cleaver illustration However, whenever I come to a complicated place, I size up the difficulties, tell myself to watch out and be careful, keep my eyes on what I m doing, work I ve read this a number of times and I ve read other translations for me Burton Watson is the best the humor shines through and the language Watson uses in his translat...I didn t finish it I got about halfway through and just couldn t take another damn parable I think I hate parables I actually agree with the basic messages of the book e.g., constantly striving for happiness can make you unhappy, so just be , but there were some parts that I just couldn t take For example, you need a non horse to show you that a horse is not a horse So, yes, a non horse is good to have around so you can tell what is a horse, but why would that be helpful in showing you I didn t finish it I got about halfway through and just couldn t take another damn parable I think I hate parables I actually agree with the basic messages of the book e.g., constantl...I almost felt like putting this on the fantasy shelf, so much of it was so purely fanciful Chuang tzu is, in the words of my prof, a wild literary ride Daoist in affiliation, this book is actually pretty drastically different from Lao tzu s, and muchof the mystical side The only reason why it s at 4 and not 5 stars is the lack of cohesiveness which plagues these 2000 year old texts It can be a little hard to focus your attention at times when the thing is jumping all over the I almost felt like putting this on the fantasy shelf, so much of it was so purely fanciful Chuang tzu is, in the words of my prof, a wild literary ride Daoist in affiliation, this book is actually pretty drasti...I found this to be a nice discussion of Taoism, worlds easier to extract meaning from than the Tao Te Ching, though not quite as clear as the Tao of Pooh It has all the trappings of ancient philosophy parables, dialogues, and very poor logical constructions though, unlike in Plato, these are essentially irrelevant for Zhuangzi the point is never expressed in logical terms, but rather by ill...It doesn t matter what your worldview is Chuang Tzu is good food for the mind.The basic allure is in the concept of casting offeverything Our deepest thoughts and considerations are almost always blocked by certain premises that we are unable to see through Chuang Tzu escapes these barriers, in a thrilling and powerful way At its basic level, The Way according to Chuang Tzu is not anchored in anything Physical circumstance, metaphysical reality these do not, well, MATTER The Way is a It doesn t matter what your worldview is Chuang Tzu is good food for the mind.The basic allure is in the concept of casting offeverything Our deepest thoughts and considerations are almost always blocked by certain premises that we are unable to see through Chuang Tzu escapes these barriers, in a thrilling and powerful way At its basic level, The Way according to Chuang Tzu is not anchored in anything Physical circumstance, metaphysical reality these do not, well, MATTER The Way is a philosophy that goes beyond all of this, rooted in nothing but the detached mind There is no seeking, only understanding There is no high, no low, only acceptance It is a worldview as as expansive and daring as any other That doesn t mean I ll be following this Way anytime soon as thrilling as it is to mull over, its implications paint a picture of rather bleak a...Very trippy I opened to the first page and was immediately confronted with a story about a bird who became a pig who became a flower But once you get into it and understand it intuitively, its stories and principles about the Dao or the flow of nature, will just begin to make sense to you That said, sometimes, you ll still want to put your head down and cry from baffled confusion, but overall, it s a good read that leaves you with a greater sense of connection to the world and nature and Very trippy I opened to the first page and was immediately confronted with a story about a bird who became a pig who became a flower But once you get into it and understand it intuitively, its stories and principles about the Dao or the flow of nature, will just begin to m...

English
02 October 2018

Zhuangzi