Societas Classica
“ST. CYRIL AND ST. METHODIUS” UNIVERSITY OF VELIKO TARNOVO - UNIVERSITY PRESS

The Western Interpretations of "Zhuangzi”


Authors:
Desislava Damyanova St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, Bulgaria

Pages: 250-264
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/LAUF5322

Abstract:

Exploring a significant amount of secondary literature on “Zhuangzi” has led us to the conclusion not only that so many individual interpretations exist, but that the presence of an incredible variety of readings is perplexing. They are often contradictory and puzzling due to their remoteness from the original text (the inner chapters of the treatise, which we reconstructed thanks to the invaluable help of an excellent connoisseur of the old Chinese language we cooperated with)2. The reason for the detection of many voices in the composition with the alleged authorship of Zhuang Zhou only in its inner section requires further research. The ambiguous assessments of its contemporary interpreters are probably due to the free creative play of different genres in the writings of the early Daoists.

Keywords:

Zhuangzi, early Daoism, western interpreters.

Download


821 downloads since 5.3.2020 г.
United Kingdom / United States / Germany / NA / Russian Federation / China / Bulgaria / Spain / Ukraine
  • © ST. CYRIL AND ST. METHODIUS UNIVERSITY OF VELIKO TARNOVO 2016 - 2024