the complete works of chuang tzu translated by burton watson

This seems an odd thing to say about Zhuangzi, but he also offers lucidity to many of the ambiguous metaphysical concepts found in Lao Tzu’s work. Zhuangzi yo-yos back-and-forth between a tongue-in-cheek, mocking tone and endearing sincerity, but an iron wit and undeniable wisdom is evident regardless of the mood you find him in. Where the ‘Tao Te Ching’ is organised into brief chapters/passages containing short, poetic and often paradoxical statements that encourage contradictory interpretations, ‘The Chuang Tzu’ is a hilariously eccentric anthology of anecdotes and allegory, filled with vibrant personalities (both fictional and non) including but not limited to Emperors, Sages and “uptight Confucians”.

Lao Tzu’s ’Tao Te Ching’ and ‘The Book of Chuang Tzu’ are the 2 most important works in the Daoist canon and couldn’t be further separated by their stylistic approach. Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu – I’ll mainly use Zhuangzi but it’s the same guy FYI) is the most significant of Daoism’s interpreters to have followed the enigmatic, and likely fictional, Lao Tzu. Walking a frayed and weathered tightrope between transcendental enlightenment and radical idealistic fancy, many will find the works of Zhuangzi in ’The Book of Chuang Tzu’ to be unrealistic and impractical in our modern times (perhaps in Zhuangzi’s time as well), and in many ways I would agree, however, if you’ve an open mind and a good sense of humour, there is a lot to love about this particular Chinese Philosopher and his ideas. “When it comes to comprehending the Tao I am about as significant as a fly in vinegar!” - Confucius (Zhuangzi claims)

One who asks about the Tao has never understood anything about the Tao.” - No Beginning (aka. ”To be questioned about the Tao and to give an answer means that you don’t know the Tao.

The complete works of chuang tzu translated by burton watson