Zhuangzi: Text and Context

Description

Zhuangzi: Text and Context is a comprehensive discussion of the ancient Daoist work Zhuangzi in 24 chapters, providing a chronologically-based outline of the context of the work, from the compilation of the text to its reading in 21st century ecology, plus a systematic discussion and interpretation of its central concepts from perfect happiness to playful uselessness. The book integrates a vast spectrum of original and secondary sources, examines the history and ideas in a wide context, both within China and cross-culturally, and relates many of Zhuangzi's key notions and practices to modern science, notably physics, biology, and psychology. Encyclopedic in scope, meticulous in execution, and skillfully presented, it is a must for anyone interested in traditional Chinese thought. Contents Acknowledgments Chapter One The Text Chapter Two Perfect Happiness Chapter Three Axial Age Philosophy Chapter Four Ordinary Thinking Chapter Five The Social Setting Chapter Six Body and Mind Chapter Seven Ancient Daoist Strands Chapter Eight The Universe Chapter Nine Guo Xiang Chapter Ten Personal Factors Chapter Eleven Religious Daoism Chapter Twelve Meditation and Self-Cultivation Chapter Thirteen The Buddhist Connection Chapter Fourteen The Perfected Chapter Fifteen Poetry and Art Chapter Sixteen Language and Metaphors Chapter Seventeen Mysticism Chapter Eighteen The Self Chapter Nineteen Western Thought Chapter Twenty Skillful Spontaneity Chapter Twenty-one Contemporary Philosophy Chapter Twenty-two Ethical Living Chapter Twenty-three The Environment Chapter Twenty-four In the World Bibliography Index