Zhuang Zi

Zhuangzi, literally meaning Master Zhuang, is a famous philosopher in ancient China,
lived around the 4th century BC (Hundred Schools of Thought, Warring States
Period). He was from the Town of Meng in the State of Song. His given name was
Zhou. He is also known as Meng Official, Meng Zhuang and Meng Elder.

This name also applies to the Taoist book (????) of the same name believed
to be written by Zhuangzi and others. One phrase from the book that has been
popuarlized is the idiom "Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly" (????
zhuang1 zhou1 meng4 die2) from the chapter "On Arranging Things" (??? qi2
wu4 lun4, the second part of the book). The idiom originates from the event
that one night, Zhuangzi dreamed that he was a carefree butterfly flying
happily. And after he woke up, he thought that maybe he was actually a
butterfly dreaming that he was a person. It hints at many questions in the
philosophy of mind and epistemology, such as Descartes' famous question of
how one knows one exists.

In general, Zhuangzi's philosophy is rather antinomian, repeatedly arguing
that our experience is limited and that using our limited tools (language,
cognition, etc.) to judge all things (wanwu) is foolish. Zhuangzi's thought
can also be considered a precursor of multiculturalism and subjectivism,
with its recognition of many value systems. For example, in the fourth
section of "The Great Happiness" (?? zhi4le4, the 18th section of the book),
Zhuangzi talks to a skull he sees lying at the side of the road. Zhuangzi
expresses sorrow that the skull's former owner is now dead, but the skull
retorts, "How do you know it's bad to be dead?" In another example, again
from "On Arranging Things," one person points out to another that animals
have different values. He mentions two famous women who are considered
beautiful by people, but if a fish saw them, it would swim away into the
depths; if a bird saw them, it would fly away into the sky, and if a deer
saw them, it would gallop away at full speed. "Which of these knows what is
truly beautiful?"

Zhuangzi's philosophy was very influential on the development of Chinese
Buddhism, especially Chan, and Zen which evolved out of Chan.

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