ABSTRACT

This is the first work available in English which addresses Zhuangzi’s thought as a whole. It presents an interpretation of the Zhuangzi, a book in thirty-three chapters that is the most important collection of Daoist texts in early China.

The author introduces a complex reading that shows the unity of Zhuangzi’s thought, in particular in his views of action, language, and ethics. By addressing methodological questions that arise in reading Zhuangzi, a hermeneutics is developed which makes understanding Zhuangzi’s religious thought possible.

A theoretical contribution to comparative philosophy and the cross-cultural study of religious traditions, the book serves as an introduction to Daoism for graduate students in religion, philosophy, and East Asian Studies.

chapter 1|13 pages

ON READING ZHUANGZI

chapter 3|17 pages

THE DRIVE TOWARDS COMPLETION

chapter 4|20 pages

UNRAVELING THE DRIVE TOWARDS COMPLETION

chapter 5|18 pages

SAYING THE UNSAYABLE

chapter 6|20 pages

BUNGLED DISCOURSE

chapter 7|21 pages

ETHICS

chapter 8|16 pages

SPIRITUAL EXERCISE