Our deepest thoughts and considerations are almost always blocked by certain premises that we are unable to see through. The basic allure is in the concept of casting off.everything. It doesn't matter what your worldview is - Chuang Tzu is good food for the mind. That is why, Watson's translation remains for me the best. Okay, looking at Watson's translation he uses words which are deceptively simple yet surgically precise. (Modern society could sure use a dose of wuwei.) Here is Chuang Tzu at his most essential presenting 'wuwei' which is not 'non action' but just the essential action, not over acting. I stand there holding the knife and look all around me, completely satisfied and reluctant to move on, and then I wipe off the knife and put it away.' (p. Here's a famous sample using the famous cleaver illustration: 'However, whenever I come to a complicated place, I size up the difficulties, tell myself to watch out and be careful, keep my eyes on what I'm doing, work very slowly, and move the knife with the greatest subtlety, until - flop! the whole thing comes apart like a clod of earth coming to the ground. He also provides useful footnotes which are located on the same page as the text the humor shines through and the language Watson uses in his translation is clear and precise. I've read this a number of times and I've read other translations. I find it interesting that Chuang Tzu did something similar on the other side of the continent.

That's what these stories are ultimately about-to lose (or forget) the small self. Be mesmerized in the many imaginative stories and lose yourself. His thinking and writing are so limitless, however. I trust that this English translation contains his essential writings.Ĭhuang Tzu defies definition.

In fact, the Japanese might read Chinese classics more than the Chinese today.)Ĭhuang Tzu wrote extensively, so editors/translators must choose which stories to include in the book. We've been reading such classics for generations it's part of the cultural heritage of the area that received the ancient Chinese influence. (Chinese characters represent not only the phonetics but also the meanings, and many modern Japanese translations of Chinese classics contain the original text to assist deeper understanding-even though I don't speak Chinese, I know the meanings of the characters. Well, I have read Chuang Tzu's writings in Japanese translation that comes with the original Chinese texts and footnotes.

GR keeps asking me if I've read this book because I've read Tao Te Ching.

Chuang tzu basic writings