Zhuangzi

Zhuangzi (c. 369-286 B.C.) was a famous philosopher and literary writer during the middle Warring States period (475-221 BC). A representative figure of the Taoist school of philosophy, he is often mentioned together with Laozi as "Lao-Zhuang". He began his career as a minor official managing a lacquer tree garden. Later, he resigned from his position to live a reclusive life. He was the first to propose the idea of the inner virtues in a ruler. His signature works were collected in the Zhuangzi.

Zhuangzi saw the universe as an organic whole that originated from the "Tao". The Tao exists before all things and is omnipresent in all things; everything is part of the Tao. The Tao drives everything but is not driven by anything, and it is in control of all human behavior and thought. If anybody reaches the level of the Tao, they have achieved infinity and complete freedom. Zhuangzi referred to this state as "xiaoyao" or freedom from all restraints – spiritual liberation that enables a person to transcend worldly concerns.

Zhuangzi was adept at expressing philosophical ideas through fables. He created fables with figures from myths and legends, or even mountains, plants, skeletons, animals and insects, to illustrate his philosophical ideas, which had a far-reaching effect on China's philosophy as well as the development of literature and art.

莊子

莊子（約前369—前286），戰(zhàn)國中期著名哲學家、文學家，道家學派代表人物，與老子并稱“老莊”。莊子崇尚自由，曾擔任管理漆樹園的小吏，后來辭官過著隱居生活。莊子最早提出“內(nèi)圣外王”思想，其代表作收錄于《莊子》。

莊子把宇宙看成起源于“道”的一個有機整體。莊子認為，“道”的存在先于宇宙萬物，又在萬物之中無所不在，萬物都是“道”的一部分。“道”是宇宙萬物運動的法則， 其驅(qū)使萬物而不受萬物驅(qū)使，自然也是一切人類行為、思想的真正主宰。人如果得“道”，便獲得了無限和自由。莊子將這種境界稱為“逍遙”，“逍遙”就是心靈不被功名利祿等外物所拖累的自由自在、無拘無束的狀態(tài)。

莊子擅長用寓言故事表達哲學主張，用神話傳說的人物甚至山木骷髏、走獸昆蟲來演繹故事，表達自己的哲學，對中國哲學思想和文學藝術發(fā)展產(chǎn)生了深遠影響。