Life

The only account of the life of Zhuangzi is a brief sketch in chapter 63 of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, and most of the information it contains seems to have simply been drawn from anecdotes in the Zhuangzi itself. In Sima's biography, he is described as a minor official from the town of Meng (in modern Anhui) in the state of Song, living in the time of King Hui of Liang and King Xuan of Qi (late 4th century BC). Sima Qian writes:

::Chuang-Tze had made himself well acquainted with all the literature of his time, but preferred the views of Lao-Tze; and ranked himself among his followers, so that of the more than ten myriads of characters contained in his published writings the greater part are occupied with metaphorical illustrations of Lao's doctrines. He made "The Old Fisherman," "The Robber Chih," and "The Cutting open Satchels," to satirize and expose the disciples of Confucius, and clearly exhibit the sentiments of Lao. Such names and characters as "Wei-lei Hsu" and "Khang-sang Tze" are fictitious, and the pieces where they occur are not to be understood as narratives of real events.

::But Chuang was an admirable writer and skillful composer, and by his instances and truthful descriptions hit and exposed the Mohists and Literati. The ablest scholars of his day could not escape his satire nor reply to it, while he allowed and enjoyed himself with his sparkling, dashing style; and thus it was that the greatest men, even kings and princes, could not use him for their purposes.

::King Wei of Chu, having heard of the ability of Chuang Chau, sent messengers with large gifts to bring him to his court, and promising also that he would make him his chief minister. Chuang-Tze, however, only laughed and said to them, "A thousand ounces of silver are a great gain to me; and to be a high noble and minister is a most honorable position. But have you not seen the victim-ox for the border sacrifice? It is carefully fed for several years, and robed with rich embroidery that it may be fit to enter the Grand Temple. When the time comes for it to do so, it would prefer to be a little pig, but it can not get to be so. Go away quickly, and do not soil me with your presence. I had rather amuse and enjoy myself in the midst of a filthy ditch than be subject to the rules and restrictions in the court of a sovereign. I have determined never to take office, but prefer the enjoyment of my own free will."

The validity of his existence has been questioned by Russell Kirkland, who writes:

According to modern understandings of Chinese tradition, the text known as the Chuang-tzu was the production of a 'Taoist' thinker of ancient China named Chuang Chou/Zhuang Zhou. In reality, it was nothing of the sort. The Chuang-tzu known to us today was the production of a thinker of the third century CE named Kuo Hsiang. Though Kuo was long called merely a 'commentator,' he was in reality much more: he arranged the texts and compiled the present 33-chapter edition. Regarding the identity of the original person named Chuang Chou/Zhuangzi, there is no reliable historical data at all.

However, Sima Qian's biography of Zhuangzi pre-dates Guo Xiang (Kuo Hsiang) by centuries. Furthermore, the Han Shu "Yiwenzhi" (Monograph on literature) lists a text Zhuangzi, showing that a text with this title existed no later than the early 1st century AD, again pre-dating Guo Xiang by centuries.

Writings

Zhuangzi is traditionally credited as the author of at least part of the work bearing his name, the Zhuangzi. This work, in its current shape consisting of 33 chapters, is traditionally divided into three parts: the first, known as the "Inner Chapters", consists of the first seven chapters; the second, known as the "Outer Chapters", consist of the next 15 chapters; the last, known as the "Mixed Chapters", consist of the remaining 11 chapters. The meaning of these three names is disputed: according to Guo Xiang, the "Inner Chapters" were written by Zhuangzi, the "Outer Chapters" written by his disciples, and the "Mixed Chapters" by other hands; the other interpretation is that the names refer to the origin of the titles of the chapters—the "Inner Chapters" take their titles from phrases inside the chapter, the "Outer Chapters" from the opening words of the chapters, and the "Mixed Chapters" from a mixture of these two sources.

Further study of the text does not provide a clear choice between these alternatives. On the one side, as Martin Palmer points out in the introduction to his translation, two of the three chapters Sima Qian cited in his biography of Zhuangzi, come from the "Outer Chapters" and the third from the "Mixed Chapters". "Neither of these are allowed as authentic Chuang Tzu chapters by certain purists, yet they breathe the very spirit of Chuang Tzu just as much as, for example, the famous 'butterfly passage' of chapter 2."

On the other hand, chapter 33 has been often considered as intrusive, being a survey of the major movements during the "Hundred Schools of Thought" with an emphasis on the philosophy of Hui Shi. Further, A.C. Graham and other critics have subjected the text to a stylistic analysis and identified four strains of thought in the book: a) the ideas of Zhuangzi or his disciples; b) a "primitivist" strain of thinking similar to Laozi in chapters 8-10 and the first half of chapter 11; c) a strain very strongly represented in chapters 28-31 which is attributed to the philosophy of Yang Chu; and d) a fourth strain which may be related to the philosophical school of Huang-Lao. In this spirit, Martin Palmer wrote that "trying to read Chuang Tzu sequentially is a mistake. The text is a collection, not a developing argument."

Zhuangzi was renowned for his brilliant wordplay and use of parables to convey messages. His critiques of Confucian society and historical figures are humorous and at times ironic.

Influence

Zhuangzi has influenced thinking far beyond East Asia. The German philosopher Martin Buber translated his texts in 1910. In 1930, Martin Heidegger asked for Buber's translation of Zhuangzi after his Bremen speech "On the Essence of Truth". In order to explain his own philosophy, Heidegger read from chapter 17, where Zhuangzi says to the thinker Hui Shih:

The historian of ideas Dag Herbjørnsrud concludes: "It may therefore be difficult to say where the philosophies of Lao Tzu and Zhuangzi end and where the most influential German thinking of the twentieth century starts ..."

In the beginning (08:59) of the film The Matrix (1999), the lead character Neo asks his visitors whether they had the feeling where they were not sure if they are awake or dreaming. This is a reference to Zhuangzi's "Butterfly Dream": "Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man."

Biological evolution

In a passage in his writings, Zhuangzi described the transmutation of species. In The Complete Works Of Chuang Tzu, translated by Burton Watson it is stated that:

The seeds of things have mysterious workings. In the water they become Break Vine, on the edges of the water they become Frog's Robe. If they sprout on the slopes they become Hill Slippers. If Hill Slippers get rich soil, they turn into Crow's Feet. The roots of Crow's Feet turn into maggots and their leaves turn into butterflies. Before long the butterflies are transformed and turn into insects that live under the stove; they look like snakes and their name is Ch'u-t'o. After a thousand days, the Ch'u-t'o insects become birds called Dried Leftover Bones. The saliva of the Dried Leftover Bones becomes Ssu-mi bugs and the Ssu-mi bugs become Vinegar Eaters. I-lo bugs are born from the Vinegar Eaters, and Huang-shuang bugs from Chiu-yu bugs. Chiu-yu bugs are born from Mou-jui bugs and Mou-jui bugs are born from Rot Grubs and Rot Grubs are born from Sheep's Groom. Sheep's Groom couples with bamboo that has not sprouted for a long while and produces Green Peace plants. Green Peace plants produce leopards and leopards produce horses and horses produce men. Men in time return again to the mysterious workings. So all creatures come out of the mysterious workings and go back into them again.

The 20th century Chinese philosopher and essayist Hu Shih considered Zhuangzi a Chinese forerunner of evolution.

生平经历

司马迁《史记·老庄申韩列传》载：「庄子者，蒙人也，名周。周尝为蒙漆园吏，与梁惠王、齐宣王同时。其学无所不闚，然其要本归于老子之言。故其著书十馀万言，大抵率寓言也。……其言洸洋自恣以适己，故自王公大人不能器之。」

根据以上记载，庄子名周。《知北游》中说「周、遍、咸，三者异名同实，其指一也！」这可能是庄子对自己名字的特地解释。又有说庄子字子休，见于《警世通言》，但司马迁没有记载，《庄子》中也没有相关证据，恐怕不确。

庄子的生活年代，一般认为是前369年—前286年。庄子逝世的那年，宋国灭亡。也有认为庄子活得更长的，《庄子》中有「旧国旧都，望之畅然」，显然宋亡以后才称呼「旧国旧都」。

庄子属道家，从《庄子》很容易得出这个结论。司马迁说庄子著书十万馀言，而今本《庄子》仅33篇6万5千多字，分内篇、外篇、杂篇三部分。《汉书·艺文志》载「《庄子》五十二篇」，可能是在晋代郭象注《庄子》删去了。以前一般认为《庄子》全部为庄子所著。从宋代起，竟成问题，认为内篇为庄子本人所著，而外篇和杂篇是道家弟子托名。总的来说，《庄子》一书除了《杂篇·说剑》类似纵横家所著以外，其思想还是统一的。庄子写书风格独特，自己称（《杂篇·寓言》）以不拘一格的寓言写作。

庄子除做过漆园吏以外，没有担任过其他官职。据《外篇·秋水》记载，楚威王曾派人邀请庄周为楚国宰相。庄子以宁为泥中嬉戏的活乌龟，也不愿意为庙堂之上，受人敬拜，用以卜卦之龟壳为由，拒绝了楚威王的邀请（泥中之龟）。他一生淡泊名利，主张修身养性，清静无为，顺应自然，追求精神逍遥无待。一直过著深居简出的隐居生活。和惠施交好。

对于庄子的行为，有些人认为这是真正的逍遥，也有人认为是愤世嫉俗的表现，清代胡文英在《庄子独见》持此观点，他说：「人只知三闾之哀怨，而不知漆园之哀怨有甚于三闾也。盖三闾之哀怨在一国，而漆园之哀在天下；三闾之哀怨在一时，而漆园之哀怨在万世。」

庄子还被认为是最早的无政府主义者。

思想渊源

世以「老庄」并称，庄子和老子都是道家的代表人物。当然庄子的思想是承继于老子的。相同点主要在「道法自然」的观点中，庄子说「天有大美而不言……是故至人无为，大圣不作，观于天地之谓也。」还有就是无为、反对战争等观点。在养生观点上，虽然老庄都谈养生，但庄子更为重视，《让王》中有「两臂重于天下」。

但老庄之间还是有区别的。法家的韩非援引《老子》。而庄子抛弃了法家援引老子思想中讲权术的一面。章太炎的《论诸子学》中有「其术似与老子相同，其心乃于老子绝异。故《天下篇》历叙诸家，己与关尹、老聃裂分为二。其褒之以『至极』，尊之以『博大真人』者，以其自然之说，为己所取法也。其裂分为二者，不欲以老子之权术自污也。」

哲学思想

处世论

庄子认为人活在世上须旷达处之泰然，如「游于羿之彀中，中央者，中地也；然而不中者，命也」（《内篇·德充符》），羿,「古之善射者，夫利害相攻则天下皆羿也」，彀指利害得失，「故免乎弓矢之害者，自以为巧，欣然多己，及至不免，则自恨其谬而志伤神辱，斯未能达命之情者也」，中与不中而「知不可奈何而安之若命，唯有德者能之」（《内篇·德充符》）。对于君主的残暴，庄子是一再强调的，「回闻卫君，其年壮，其行独；轻用其国，而不见其过；轻用民死，死者以国量乎泽若蕉，民其无如矣。」。所以庄子不愿去做官，因为他认为伴君如伴虎，只能「顺」。「汝不知夫养虎者乎！不敢以生物与之，为其杀之之怒也；不敢以全物与之，为其决之之怒；时其饥饱，达其怒心。虎之与人异类而媚养己者，顺也；故其杀者，逆也。」还要防止马屁拍到马脚上，「夫爱马者，以筐盛矢，以蜄盛溺。适有蚊虻仆缘，而拊之不时，则缺衔毁首碎胸。」伴君之难，可见一斑。庄子认为人生应该追求自由。

与佛教相类似的，庄子也认为人生有悲的一面。《齐物论》中有「一受其成形，不忘以待尽。与物相刃相靡，其行尽如驰，而莫之能止，不亦悲乎！终身役役而不见其成功，苶然疲役而不知其所归，可不哀邪！人谓之不死，奚益！其形化，其心与之然，可不谓大哀乎？人之生也，固若是芒乎？其我独芒，而人亦有不芒者乎？」庄子认为如果能做到「齐物」，那么他便能达到「逍遥」的境界。这是庄子哲学中另一个重要概念，这是个体精神解放的境界，即无矛盾地生存于世界之中。庄子并不否认矛盾，只是强调主观上对矛盾的摆脱。庄子用「无为」来解释这一术语，与老子不同，这里「无为」是指心灵不被外物所拖累的自由自在，无拘无束的状态。这种状态，也被称为「无待」，意为没有相对的东西。这时，人们抛弃了功名利禄的追求欲望，「乘天地之正，而御六气之辩，以游无穷」。这句被普遍认为《逍遥游》一篇主旨，同时也是《庄子》一书的主旨。这是一种心与「道」合一的境界。

庄子认为一般人很虚伪，「人心险于山川，难于知天。天犹有春秋冬夏旦暮之期，人者厚貌深情。」。他批评儒家「以仁义撄人之心」，这样会导致「天下脊脊大乱」」。而君主的专制统治和对知识的爱好，只会使人心更加败坏，「民之于利甚勤，子有杀父，臣有杀君，正昼为盗，日中穴阫。」

流沙河认为，庄子的为人主要有四点，「一曰立场，站在环中。二曰方法，信奉无为。三曰理想，追慕泽雉。四曰修养，紧守心斋。」所谓环中，就是不持有任何立场。《内篇·齐物论》中有「得其环中，以应无穷」，《杂篇·则阳》中有「得其环中以随成」。无为在《庄子》中经常出现，庄子认为无论治国还是做人，都要无为。但无为颇难解释，流沙河认为是「伪」或是「人为」的意思。「泽雉十步一啄，百步一饮，不蕲畜乎樊中」，是追求自由。「若一志，无听之以耳而听之以心，无听之以心而听之以气！听止于耳，心止于符。气也者，虚而待物者也。唯道集虚。虚者，心斋也。」，所谓心斋就是要排除心中的种种杂念。

体道

庄子的哲学思想大体可归纳为以道为实体的本体论、「万物齐一」的相对主义认识论，并由此引发出其独有的主观唯心主义倾向和相对主义诡辩倾向。这种本于自然的人性论与伦理观，为后世的中国知识分子提供了另一种生存方式和价值观念的可能性。庄子的哲学提倡破除「肉身我」与「认知我」，追求超然物外的审美态度，于事于物不著痕迹。阴阳本指事物两种相互对立的方面，「一阴一阳之谓道」（《周易·系辞传》），庄子将之定义为气所包含的矛盾对立要素，「阴阳，气之大者也」（《庄子·则阳》）。

在庄子哲学中，万物是一个形而上的存在的部分，他将该存在称为生主。这个存在「存在而无实体」，即「有情无形」。它是一切人类行为、情感的「真正主宰者」。因它驱使万物而不受万物驱使，故它是唯一超然于万物的。因为所有其他万物都处于驱使、受驱使的循环之中。唯独它不然。人类作为生主的一部分，将自己投入主观中，使自己无法与该形而上的存在一致。人类希求生主以外的事物，希望成为其他的事物。从而被外物所驱使，成为了受驱使的，从而破坏了生主的超然性。。生主既与万物同时存在，庄子认为作为生主的一部分，人类应当从绝对的分别中抽离出来，并认识到一切的分别都是主观的、虚幻的，这样才可以脱离受外物驱使奴役的境地，保养生主。「道」是宇宙的本体，是一个无限的概念。由「道」而产生了天地万物，「道」本身是万物之源。 「夫道有情有信，无为无形，可传而不可受，可得而不可见，自本自根，未有天地，自古以固存，神鬼神帝，生天生地。」。人如果得 「道」，即获得了无限和自由。

庄子「道通为一」的思想和近代德日进的哲学思想在把宇宙看成一个有机整体的这一点上是相同的。

政治哲学

庄子和儒墨有一点很大的不同，儒家墨家推崇圣人，而道家则反对推崇圣贤。老子说：「不尚贤，使民不争。不贵难得之货，使民不为盗。」，「绝圣弃智，民利百倍；绝仁弃义，民复孝慈；绝巧弃利，盗贼无有。」庄子说「圣人生而大盗起」。庄子认为圣人的主义学说不过是「窃国大盗」的工具罢了。其中的典型例子就是田成子，篡夺了齐国的政权。「田成子一旦杀其君而盗其国，所盗者岂独其国邪？并与其圣知之法而盗之……窃齐国，并与其圣知之法一守其盗贼之身。」对于圣人，庄子借用盗跖之口批评「黄帝尚不能全德……尧不慈，舜不孝，禹偏枯，汤放其主，武王伐纣。」，说孔子是「鲁之巧伪人」。庄子还说「凶德有五，中德为首」，所谓「中德」就是有心为德，有心为德就要虚伪，「日出多伪，士民安取不伪。」，会导致天下大乱。庄子还对圣人学说的积极性怀疑，认为圣人可以使一人变好，也使三人变坏。另外，庄子反对儒家的等级观念，儒家说「君君臣臣父父子子」，庄子认为「道通为一」，认为道在万物，万物平等。

对治国，庄子反对儒家的以礼法治国和法家的以法律治国。庄子认为儒家的仁义、礼法违背人性，使百姓「失其朴」。对于刑罚治国，「昔者尧治天下，不赏而民劝，不罚而民畏。今子赏罚而民且不仁德自此衰，刑自此立，后世之乱自此始矣。」。庄子反对儒家和法家的治国方法的核心，是以知治国。庄子认为知是「争之器」，而且知往往会被大盗所利用，所谓「盗亦有道」便是如此。对于以知治国，庄子说「大乱之本，必生于尧舜之间，其末存乎千世之后。千世之后，其必有人与人相食者也。」

所以，庄子与老子一样，主张无为治国，任其自然，认为「绝圣弃知而天下大治」，君主要「无容私」，「汝游心于淡，合气与漠，顺物自然而无容私焉，而天下治矣。」。庄子在《庄子》中描写过他心中的「至德之世」，「不尚贤，不使能，上如标枝，民如野鹿。端正而不知以为义，相爱而不知以为仁，实而不知以为忠，当而不知以为信，蠢动而相使，不以为赐。是故行而无迹，事而无传。」

文学贡献

老子认为「道可道非常道」，庄子也认为道不可言。但道不可言，又不得不言，所以庄子采用的是寓言、巵言的方法，「寓言十九，重言十七，巵言日出，和以天倪。」这种方式让庄子的思想像水一般，不会惧怕后人的肢解。同时让他的观点不会被历史湮没。不同的时期拜读，会得更新的意义。庄周梦蝶、混沌开窍、庖丁解牛、惠施相梁、螳螂捕蝉等都是其出色的寓言。庄子的文字，想像高妙，天马行空，流畅通达，堪称中国文学史上的一宛奇葩，将先秦散文推向了一个新的高峰。

相对老子而言，庄子的思想倾向于对艺术及自由的追求。从庄周梦蝶、濠梁之辩（子非鱼安知鱼之乐）等事情可见。

信仰形象

道教称南华微妙真人庄周、冲虚真人列御寇、通玄真人辛文子、洞灵真人康桑楚，称为四大真人，加上文始真人尹喜、质初真人徐甲、贵生真人杨朱，则称「老君门下七真」。

指微派称太上老君有高足太乙救苦天尊，老君自己化身为老聃，又命太乙救苦天尊化身为庄周，庄周白日飞升于八月八日，次日居然又现身。民间在八月初八日祭祀太乙救苦天尊，政府在八月初九日，称元成节。

「南华真仙」、「南华老仙」或「南华大仙」等，系一虚拟人物，多见于小说诸如《二刻拍案惊奇》和《三国演义》等，其原型应该来自于道教对庄子之封号「南华真人」或「南华真君」。

《三国演义》第一回中，南华老仙赠书《太平要术》给张角。书载：南华老仙，碧眼童颜，手执藜杖，以天书三卷授之曰：「此名太平要术。汝得之，当代天宣化，普救世人；若萌异心，必获恶报。」角拜问姓名。老人曰：「吾乃南华老仙也。」言讫，化阵清风而去。

来由

唐玄宗天宝（742年—756年）初年，诏封庄周为南华真人，称其著书《庄子》为《南华经》。不过，称庄子为「南华」在唐朝前就已如此。成玄英《南华真经注疏序》中就称庄子为「南华」，《隋书·经籍志》记载梁旷著有《南华论》。

约成于东晋末南朝初的《太极真人敷灵宝斋戒威仪诸经要诀》称：「庄周者，太上南华仙人也，其前世学道时，愿言：『我得道成仙，才智洞达，当出世化生人中，敷演《道德经五千文》，宣畅道意。』」，当时道教流传的《灵宝经》中已称庄子为南华仙人。

至于为何用「南华」作为封号，历来说法不一。一是认为传说庄周曾隐居于曹州南华山，清朝宣颖《南华经解》沿用，不过明代以前少有此说。若按《真诰》记载，庄子师「长桑公子」（又称长桑真君，即扁鹊之师）隐于抱犊山，服北育火丹，白日升天，而非隐居在南华山。

另一说，则来自北宋道士陈景元。在《南华真经章句音义》中，陈景元主张南华是「义取离明英华，发挥道妙」之义。在《南华真经义海纂微》中，南宋褚伯秀认为，南华同南极、东华之类，均为上天职任仙真的封号，难以究其义理由来。

按道教《要修科仪戒律钞》引用《上清洞真智慧观身大戒文》称「当念东游青林东华，当念西游安养西华，当念北游碧罗北华，当念南游太丹南华，当念游遨留憩玉京、昆仑中华」，将「太丹南华」与「青林东华」、「安养西华」、「碧罗北华」、「玉京、昆仑中华」并举，太丹南华可能是南方的仙境，类同玉京、昆仑。

文学与历史

据司马迁《史记·老子韩非列传》记载：「庄子者，蒙人也，名周」。有说庄子字「子休」，见于成玄英《庄子注疏》的序文及小说《警世通言》，但此说仅载于小说，不见于《史记》，《庄子》中也缺乏相关证据。

虽然小说作者和道教徒取材于庄周隐居南华山的典故，但基本上，南华老仙的故事，仍属作者构想、创作的人物和情节，不应将之误解为史实，或归类为历史。

影视形象

• 1913年香港首部无声电影《庄子试妻》：黎北海饰演庄周

• 《大秦帝国之纵横》