Zhuangzi's critique of the Confucians : blinded by the human / Kim-chong Chong.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chong, Kim Chong, author.

Series:

SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture.

SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Zhuangzi.

Philosophy, Confucian.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (212 pages)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [2016]

Summary:

The Daoist Zhuangzi has often been read as a mystical philosopher. But there is another tradition, beginning with the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian, which sees him as a critic of the Confucians. Kim-chong Chong analyzes the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi, demonstrating how Zhuangzi criticized the pre-Qin Confucians through metaphorical inversion and parody. This is indicated by the subtitle, "Blinded by the Human," which is an inversion of the Confucian philosopher Xunzi's remark that Zhuangzi was "blinded by heaven and did not know the human." Chong compares Zhuangzi's Daoist thought to Confucianism, as exemplified by Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi. By analyzing and comparing the different implications of concepts such as "heaven," "heart-mind," and "transformation," Chong shows how Zhuangzi can be said to provide the resources for a more pluralistic and liberal philosophy than the Confucians.

Contents:

Blinded by heaven

The pre-established heart-mind

The transformation of things

Zhen, some normative concerns

The facts of human construction

Metaphor in the Zhuangzi and theories of metaphor

Self, virtue (de) and values in the Zhuangzi.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781438462868

1438462867