Experimental Essays on Zhuangzi

by Victor H. Mair (Editor)

Experimental Essays on Zhuangzi is a classic in the field. Originally published in 1983, this edition makes it available again in an expanded version, with four additional contributions, and in an updated format, with pinyin transcription, Chinese characters embedded in the text, and reference style notes. The work is a well respected textbook and essential reader in Daoist thought. It continues to constitute an essential contribution to the study of Daoism and Chinese philosophy.

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1983

About the author

Victor Henry Mair (/mɛər/; born March 25, 1943) is an American Sinologist and professor of Chinese at the University of Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Manny Furious · Rating 4 out of 5]

The value in this books lies in how all the different perspectives interpret the "Chuang Tzu". It's fitting on one level because--as several of the essays deftly point out, in much detail--Chuang Tzu was something of a relativist. But it's interesting to note how two someone mutually exclusive views (such as the more "meditative" perspective in the final essay and the essay on language, by Hanson, I believe) can find something to relate to in Chuang Tzu, and neither view is necessarily wrong... or right for the matter.

Personally my favorite essays from this collection were the one's by Mair (on the humor in the book), the one by A.C. Graham and the dichotomy in the book of Is/Ought, the essay about play (I forget the author at the moment) and, oddly enough, the brief-but-engaging introduction by Burtson Watson, which, in it's briefness and ease of thought, best reflected the essence of Chuang Tzu.

All of the essays are of quality, though. Highly recommended for any person who enjoyed reading the "Chuang Tzu."