Zhuangzi

Zhuang Zhou, c. 369–286 BCE. Chinese philosopher of the Warring States period, second only to Laozi in the Taoist canon, and the most playful, wild-minded writer in classical Chinese literature. Tradition says he served briefly as a minor official, then quit and refused all further offers of high office — including, famously, the offer to become prime minister of Chu, which he turned down by way of a story about a sacred turtle who would rather be dragging its tail in the mud than be honored as a relic in the king's temple. The *Zhuangzi* — the book that bears his name, of which the first seven (the "Inner Chapters") are almost certainly his — is a collection of dialogues, parables, jokes, and dreams. The cook who carves the ox by following the spaces between the joints. The man who dreams he is a butterfly and wakes unsure which is real. The useless tree that lives a long life because no one wants to chop it down. The pole-balancing cicada-catcher whose only secret is total focus. Core teaching: the Way is in everything, and it cannot be argued. Stop trying to be useful in the world's sense. Wander. Be like the empty boat that bumps into another boat — no one gets angry at an empty boat. Forget yourself; the world will fit you. Key works: the *Zhuangzi* (often translated as *Chuang Tzu*) — especially the Inner Chapters (1–7). Translations: Burton Watson, A.C. Graham, Brook Ziporyn.