Great knowledge is idle, and small knowledge is intermittent; Big words are hot, small words are Zhan. From Zhuangzi's Zhuangzi Homology in the Warring States Period.
The smartest person will always show an open-minded attitude; Small and talented people always haggle over every ounce. The words that conform to the avenue are like a prairie fire, which is both beautiful and grand and convincing. Those clever remarks are all trivial nonsense.
Extended data
Creation background
Year of writing
The word "Xi Zhe" in the last paragraph of On Wuqi provides conclusive evidence for inferring the age of his works. Zhuangzi died in 286 BC at the end of the Warring States Period. "Xi Zhe" indicates that it was long after the death of Zhuangzi, and it is possible to infer that it was between Qin and Han Dynasties. Literally, it is indeed a tone for future generations to remember.
On Wuqi is different from the general works in the pre-Qin period. At that time, there were few special topics in the works. They all wrote chapters first, and then either took the numbers in the first sentence or took two words to solve the problem. Their special topics were meaningless. The Theory of Everything is rare in ancient books because of its famous works.
Although The Analects of Confucius was widely used in the early Han Dynasty, such as On Qin and On Salt and Iron. That is to say, the 33 propositions in Zhuangzi have three meanings and two titles besides discussing things, and none of them are based on theory. From this, it can be proved that it should be written between Qin and Han dynasties, and the famous articles began to be discussed.
Judging from the content of "The Theory of Everything", it does have the ideological characteristics of the times during the Qin and Han Dynasties, such as the description of the Supreme: "The Supreme is God! Osawa burns but not hot, rivers are cold but not cold, thunder breaks mountains, and the wind vibrates the sea but not surprised.
If that's the case, travel around the world by cloud, and live and die on yourself, but what about tax incentives? "Then the sage said," Next to the sun and the moon, the universe is surrounded. Long live ginseng and become pure. "Both Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wudi yearned for immortals and pursued immortality, which can be said to be the most influential people and saints in The Theory of Everything.
The Theory of Everything also integrates the theories of Shendao, Gongsunlong and Laozi, so the earliest period of this theory should not be before Shenzi, Gongsunlongzi and Laozi were written, but Shenzi and Gongsunlongzi were written in the late Warring States period before Qin and Han Dynasties.
However, there are different opinions about the time when Laozi was written, but most people tend to write it in the Warring States period. Since The Theory of Everything absorbed the contents of Shenzi, Gongsun Zilong and Laozi, its completion date must be after these books, not earlier than the late Warring States period.
To sum up, The Theory of Everything was written during the Qin and Han Dynasties, after the end of the Warring States Period and before Huai Nan Zi was written in the early Han Dynasty.
social environment
The lobbyists in the Warring States period were eloquent and held their own opinions. Thus, they intrigue and hurt each other, instead of really understanding the feelings of Tao, let alone being indifferent and enjoying themselves. Therefore, they have deviated from the "Tao" in their attitude towards life, and Zhuangzi gave them a bitter irony: "Emotions, sorrows, sorrows, sorrows, sighs, Yao Yi's attitude, joys and sorrows, steamed into bacteria.
Day and night fight each other and you don't know what it is. "As intellectuals who give lectures, they are happy, angry, sad and happy. They are constantly worried and sighing, constantly afraid and troubled. Just as music comes from empty things, fungi are evaporated by the earth's atmosphere. These emotions and mentality are changing day and night in front of me, but I don't know how they originated.
People use this to pursue the truth, but they are constantly recognizing and pursuing, but they are unconsciously moving away from the truth.
During the Warring States period, a hundred schools of thought contended and their thoughts were complicated and chaotic. Zhuangzi believes that everything is fundamentally self-sufficient and unified. He criticized those who were stubborn and aggressive. He believes that "Tao" itself cannot be expressed in words and is natural, so people who pursue truth and seek "Tao" should also have a carefree, unrestrained and enjoyable mentality.
Facing the social reality that a hundred schools of thought contend, Zhuangzi keenly noticed many distressing performances of the "theorists at that time", and found that they all showed the tendency of "being weaker than morality and stronger than things", and devoted themselves to exploring foreign things without caring about the cultivation and protection of personal life. Therefore, they will inevitably lose their true selves in the "irreconcilable" and their lives will be destroyed.
In this context, Zhuangzi tried to find a way to untie the shackles of the soul, get rid of persistence and reach the free spiritual world. It is the existence of this social reality that makes Zhuangzi deeply saddened by the influence and alienation of "the theorist at that time" in the debate, which makes Zhuangzi put forward Qi Yi's "theory of things" so urgently.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Homology of Things