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Zhuangzi  |
| CCTV.COM 2002-07-19 15:07:10 |
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The idiom of "learning how to walk in Handan" is a fable with profound philosophical significance.
 In ancient China, a man from the state of Yan arrived in Handan. He felt that the local people walked beautifully, so he tried to follow their steps.
Before he learned the new way of walking, he forgot his own and had to crawl all the way back home. The story suggests that one should not pursue what does not belong to him, otherwise he will lose his own character.
The story was told by Zhuangzi, a wise man who lived during the Warring States Period. Zhuangzi （ 369 B.C.－286 B.C.）, whose given name was Zhou, was a native of the state of Song in the middle of the Warring States Period. Zhuangzi's thought is included in the book Zhuangzi.
 The book consists of the Inner Chapters, Outer Chapters and Miscellaneous Chapters. Scholars of the later generations believed that the Inner Chapters had been written by Zhuangzi himself while some of the Outer Chapters and Miscellaneous Chapters had been written by Zhuangzi himself and the others had been written by his disciples in the light of his ideas or contributed by other scholars.
Zhuangzi was a representative of Taoism. Zhuangzi maintained that Tao was suggested by the concept of "nature". The word "nature" was used frequently in the book Zhuangzi. "Let nature take its course" is a very important philosophical idea advanced by Zhuangzi. He said Tao could be sensed, but not explained in words.
Zhuangzi often expressed his ideas in the form of fables such as his dream as a butterfly. The allusions and idioms that evolved out of these fables are frequently quoted nowadays.
 Zhuangzi lived during the Warring States Period when fierce fighting went on among the principalities. Many scholars were keen on politics. They travelled in the various states to drum up support for their political views, trying to get high positions with high pay. But Zhuangzi was content to live in straitened and humble circumstances. He declined a generous gift from Prince Wei of Chu who asked him to be his prime minister. He said, "Don't tempt me with fame and gain. I would rather be free and unrestrained in poverty than be bound up."
Zhuangzi believed that the transition from being free and at ease to being leisurely and carefree marked a rise in the value of man. He stressed that one should not be controlled by fame and gain, otherwise he would lose his own character. He said that if one regarded anything finite as a matter of vital importance, he could not be leisurely and carefree； if one failed to understand life and death thoroughly, he could not be leisurely and carefree either. Zhuangzi maintained that both life and death were natural. Hence the saying "It is not worthwhile to be happy about the birth of a baby or grieved about the death of anybody."
But Zhuangzi attached great importance to "life". This is beyond doubt. Many of his fables tell people how to keep good health. He pursued a perfect combination of Tao and skills.
Zhuangzi wrote beautiful prose to explain his philosophy. He subtly described all things on earth and advocated a passive way of life detached from reality.
He adored wise men who acted like immortals instead of Almighty God. His philosophical and artistic ideas exerted a profound influence on almost all the philosophers, writers and artists of the later generations. Today Zhuangzi's thought retains its infinite power of fascination.
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