Analysis of Chuang Tzu 33 Chapters - Essay Example

?Analysis of Chuang Tzu 33 chapters later edited by Kuo Hsiang Outline:People in the West apart from the academic circles know little or nothing about the Chinese philosophers. The two most common known Chinese philosophers are Confucius and Loa Tzu. This essay is about one of the most enigmatic Chinese philosopher and literary figure, Chaung Tzu__ a personality not well or to be more precise, little known off, to the rest of the world. In the words of Arthur Waley, a famous orientalist," Chuang Tzu, is one of the most entertaining and profoundest book in the world". But to be honest how many among us have an inkling that such a book exists. An ironic and very sad state of affair. This essay provides a birds eye view of the man and his times. The main body of the essay consists of detailed discussion of his philosophic and literary masterpiece. As is obvious the original work is in the Chinese language, hence the main source of this essay is the translation of Chuang Tzu's complete work by the another famous orientalist A.C. Graham __ "Chaung Tzu, The Inner Chapters". Introduction: Little is known of the man Chuang Tzu, except the some sattered details found in miscellaneous official historical records. He lived during the Warring States Era ( 403-221 B.C. ) in the Chinese history; he held a minor official post, and he was a resident of a place called Meng, in the present day Honan Province. At this bleak junction in the Chinese history a phenomenon known as the Baijia, or the hundred schools of thought, emerged. Each of these schools propagated their peculiar brand of remedies to cure the social malaise to rid the Chinese society of the culture of violence and gore. The basic point that in a way united these schools was the fact that all of these schools of thought wanted to a state of social harmony, both at the level of the state and the individual. Among these schools of thought and perhaps the most influential one, was the Ruist__the erstwhile followers of Confucius. These scholars were in favor of returning to the wisdom and the old traditions and values of ancient China. Another, important school was the Mohist: composed of the disciples of "Master Mo" or Mozi. These scholars were opposed to the traditional culture and values because they perceived them to be elitist. Doadejing was also a popular movement of during these turbulent times. Chuang Tzu's philosophy developed within the context defined by the Ruist, Mohist and the Doadeing schools of thought. Chaung Tzu, is reported to have taken birth about more than a century after Confucius. His famous contemporaries were Mencius ( with whom he had no discourse or any contact), Gonsung Longzi ( the logician ) and his acquaintance Hui Shih ( referred to as a paradox monger). One man without whose mention the Chinese cultural history is bereft of any vitality and color is Chuang Tzu. But it is not on his own account but because of the remarkable feat of conservation of his work successfully undertaken by the Jin dynasty scholar and commentator, Kuo Hsiang (d.312 C.E.) that we know him today. Had it not been for Kuo Hsiang, China and the rest of the world would have never known the exceptional visionary, Chuang Tzu. Apart from preserving his work for posterity, Kuo Hsiang also has the unique distinction of being the first editor of Chuang Tzu. Originally, the work of Chuang Tzu was composed of fifty two chapters but it was reduced to its current thirty three chapters by Kuo Hsiang. He left out all that he thought spurious, and to set the record right, only the first seven chapters are written by the great man and are referred to as the "Inner Chapters" or Neipian. The rest of the chapters, that is chapters eight to twenty two, are referred to as the "Outer Chapters or Waipian, and chapters twenty three to thirty three are called the "Miscellaneous Chapters" or Zaipian. These chapters are attributed to the disciples and followers of the great man. In short the "Inner Chapters" form the core of the magnum opus or the basic writings of Chuang Tzu. At this crucial juncture in the Chinese history the greatest minds of the age were wrestling with the basic question of finding, the True Way, which in the simplest terms implied that what was the right way to conduct themselves in a manner befitting the kings and nobles in their rights and the ordinary citizens in theirs, respectively, in order to restore law and order in China. The Mohist and the Ruist thinkers according to their tradition addressed the political and the intellectual elites. While the mystic Chuang Tzu addressed the spiritual elite. According to him the need of the hour for the Chinese people was self realization. In the words of Graham," In the landscape that he shows us, things somehow do not have the relative importance which we are accustomed to assign to them. It is though he finds in animals and trees as much significance as in people; within the human sphere, beggars, cripples and freaks are seen without pity and with as much interest and respect as princes and sages, and death with the same equanimity as life. This sense of truly original image is not diminished by familiarity with other ancient Chinese literature, even that in which his influence is deepest ", and he continues,"It is not that he is a remarkable thinker and writer with an absolutely fearless eye like the William Blake of the Marriage of Heaven and Hell, he gives the slightly hair raising sensation of the man so much himself that rather than rebelling against conventional modes of thinking, he seems free of them by birthright." 1 The two constants in Chuang Tzu' writing whether the paradoxical anecdote or the pseudo logical discussion, in perfect prose or sublime rhyme, are skepticism and spontaneity. Skepticism is the main force behind the development of modern philosophy. And it s nothing strange that both the Greek and the Chinese brand of skepticism are in essence the same. Both question the same issues, the most important of which are of epistemological origin, as Chuang Tzu, , like all mystics believes that language is inadequate to describe the true way. And the only way to achieve the true way, is through spontaneity. Chuang maintains that while all the things in the cosmos move spontaneously on a course, proper to them, man unfortunately has stunted his natural growth and his spontaneous aptitude by labelling things, good or bad, right or wrong, beautiful ang ugly. And this has resulted in harming our inherent capabilities. Chuang Tzu is of the opinion that if man is to regain his health and peace of mind, he needs to educate and develop spontaneity. According to Chuang Tzu a cook carves an ox, a carpenter chisels a wheel and a swimmer escape a deadly whirlpool, by te, the 'Power', or the inherent capacity of a thing to perform its specific functions successfully. And how are we to cultivate this power of te, according to Chuang Tzu, the heart and not the brain is the organ of thought and ,"... that everything in the universe is activated by ch'i, or 'breath/ energy', concieved as a fluid which in its purest state is the breath that vitalises us". 2 According to the traditional Chinese cosmology all energies are classed into Yin and Yang, wind and rain, dark and light, and he advises us to develop these spontaneous energies in order to achieve inner peace and serenity, so that we lead a simple but flourishing life, untouched by the debasing qualities of ambition, power and wealth. Conclusion: Chuang Tzu is the man responsible for transformation of Chinese Buddhism. He is also responsible for introducing Zen Buddhism to Japan. And presently it is his work which is making Chinese philosophy popular in the West. The episode of Chuang Tzu dreaming the butterfly or the butterfly dreaming Chuang Tza has attained the status of a cult classic in some literary circles in the East as well as the West, and has inspired many other great works of literature and arts. ______________________________________________________________________________ Reference. 1. Chuang Tzu, The Inner Chappters, copyrights 1981, 1986, 1989, translated by A.C. Graham, Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., Indianapolis/ Cambridge, p. 3-4. 2. Chuang Tzu, The Inner Chappters, copyrights 1981, 1986, 1989, translated by A.C. Graham, Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., Indianapolis/ Cambridge, p. 7. Read More