![]() This is a great contribution! Zhang Longxi, author of Allegoresis: Reading Canonical Literature East and Westįollowing his acclaimed Yijing and Laozi renderings, Richard Lynn offers an authoritative translation of the Zhuangzi together with, and through the lens of, its formative commentary. ![]() Richard John Lynn’s excellent translation of Guo Xiang’s version of the Zhuangzi will be essential for the study of Daoism and Chinese philosophical tradition in general. Michael Nylan, author of The Chinese Pleasure BookĪs a major commentator, Guo Xiang not only illuminated the meaning of the Zhuangzi but also shaped a way to understand that great Daoist classic. As both parts of this picture are flat wrong, Lynn’s translation, which reads the Zhuangzi through its first systematic commentary, restores the Zhuangzi to all its inherent political genius and original power. Wendy Swartz, author of Reading Philosophy, Writing Poetry: Intertextual Modes of Making Meaning in Early Medieval Chinaįor far too long the Zhuangzi has been read through a Buddhist lens, and Guo Xiang treated as an aberrant commentator who distorts the Zhuangzi by reading it in political ways. Lynn’s brilliant work will be indispensable for the study of Chinese philosophy, intellectual history, and literature. This magisterial rendering of the earliest wholly extant commentary and version of the Zhuangzi is presented with superb discussions of key issues and debates surrounding the text. Richard John Lynn’s much-anticipated translation of the Zhuangzi as interpreted by Guo Xiang is a monumental achievement of exceptional scope and depth. Lynn sheds new light on how the Daoist classic, which has often been seen as a timeless book of wisdom, is situated in its historical context, while also considering it as a guide to personal cultivation and self-realization. A critical introduction includes a detailed account of Guo’s life and times as well as analysis of his essential contributions to the arcane learning ( xuanxue) of the fourth century and the development of Chinese philosophy. The book also features a translation of Guo’s complete interlinear commentary and is annotated throughout. This approach allows for the full integration of the text of the Zhuangzi with Guo’s commentary. Unlike any previous translation into any language, its guiding principle is how Guo read the text Lynn renders the Zhuangzi in terms of Guo’s understanding. Richard John Lynn’s new translation of the Zhuangzi is the first to follow Guo’s commentary in its interpretive choices. Guo’s commentary enriches readings of the Zhuangzi, offering keen insights into the meaning and significance of its pithy but often ambiguous aphorisms, narratives, and parables. The earliest and most influential commentary on the Zhuangzi is that of Guo Xiang (265–312), who also edited the text into the thirty-three-chapter version known ever since. ![]() The Zhuangzi (Sayings of Master Zhuang) is one of the foundational texts of the Chinese philosophical tradition and the cornerstone of Daoist thought.
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