Chuang Tzu's Perfect Man
Chuang Tzu was a brilliant, original, and influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE. The background from which he arose involved a period of strife, conquest, oppression, and an attempt to preserve traditional societal values. This situation gives light to the origin of Chuang Tzus philosophy, which was centered on skepticism and mystical detachment (which is why it differs so radically from Confucianism). His ideology provided the disillusioned members of Chinese society with a method to cope with and survive in a world ridden with chaos and suffering.
In his Basic Writings, Chuang Tzu delineates the nature of what he believes is the perfect man, and he does so using three basic rhetorical devices. The most obvious are paradoxical anecdotal passages in which illogical statements push the mind into a state of deeper contemplation to discover an underlying truth. The second is pseudo-logical discussion, in which a conversation starts out logically but progresses to address the irrationality of various subjects. Humor, the final rhetorical device, serves to better the readers understanding of the philosophical ideas and provide a favorable alternative to constant forceful persuasion. A combination of these things provides Chuang Tzu with the tools he requires to convey his ideas, although he admits that language is wholly inadequate in describing the true nature of the Way.
Chuang Tzus ideal person has discovered the Tao, or Way. The Tao can be described as the underlying unity that embraces man, Nature, and all that is in the universe. This manner of living involves a central message of freedom, from both the material world and traditional, rational thought. By following the Way, the true sage can attain an existence liberated from worldly constraint and live in peaceful harmony with nature.
To achieve such a state of living, it is necessary to free oneself from the material world and its affairs. In doing so, traditional societal
In his Basic Writings, Chuang Tzu delineates the nature of what he believes is the perfect man, and he does so using three basic rhetorical devices. The most obvious are paradoxical anecdotal passages in which illogical statements push the mind into a state of deeper contemplation to discover an underlying truth. The second is pseudo-logical discussion, in which a conversation starts out logically but progresses to address the irrationality of various subjects. Humor, the final rhetorical device, serves to better the readers understanding of the philosophical ideas and provide a favorable alternative to constant forceful persuasion. A combination of these things provides Chuang Tzu with the tools he requires to convey his ideas, although he admits that language is wholly inadequate in describing the true nature of the Way.
Chuang Tzus ideal person has discovered the Tao, or Way. The Tao can be described as the underlying unity that embraces man, Nature, and all that is in the universe. This manner of living involves a central message of freedom, from both the material world and traditional, rational thought. By following the Way, the true sage can attain an existence liberated from worldly constraint and live in peaceful harmony with nature.
To achieve such a state of living, it is necessary to free oneself from the material world and its affairs. In doing so, traditional societal
References: .Chuang Tzu, Basic Writings. Trans. Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, New York, 1996), 1-3.