This article tells about the writing experience of the pre-Qin poet Liezi. Liezi generally went through three stages in writing his book. Let’s take a look at it:
1. Later, Liezi’s disciples compiled it based on his activities and remarks. There are more than eight articles.
2. The Han people supplemented and organized it on this basis, forming the eight chapters recorded in "Hanshu. Yiwenzhi".
3. According to the collection of books by his ancestors and the fragments collected after the war, Zhang Zhan said, "Only by checking whether the manuscript is correct can it be complete." And based on the eight chapters recorded in "Hanshu. Yiwenzhi", it was compiled into the current version of "Liezi".
Since in the compilation process, in order to clear the text and connect the chapters, some of Zhang Zhan’s own thoughts and some of his edited contents must be added. Therefore, the current version of Liezi incorporates some of the thoughts of Wei and Jin people. , the language and characters are understandable. "Liezi", which took three years to be written, is inevitably complicated. For more information, see Mr. Zhang Qinghua's "Essence of the Taoist Scriptures. Liezi. Preface".
Liezi’s learning is based on the ancestors of Huangdi and Laozi. According to legend, he once asked Guan Yinzi and worshiped Huqiuzi as his teacher. Later, he studied under Lao Shang and Zhibo Gaozi successively and obtained their true transmissions, while Youbo was unconscious and had no one. After practicing Taoism for nine years, he was able to ride the wind. "Shu Yi Ji" says that Liezi often rode the wind on the first day of spring and traveled around the eight wastelands. On the first day of autumn, he returned to the "wind cave". When the wind came, all the grass and trees grew, and when the wind went away, all the grass and trees fell. "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" said: "Zi Liezi is noble and weak." He believes that "the best intention of a perfect person is like a mirror. He does not hold back or meet, responds but does not hide, so he can conquer things without harming them." Liezi was poor and looked hungry, but he refused the food given by Ziyang, the tyrannical ruler of Zheng. His disciple Yan Hui asked: "Are all those who hear the Tao rich?" Liezi said: "Jie and Zhou only despised the Tao and valued profit, which was their demise!" He believed that we should get rid of the nobility, fame and fortune in the world, follow the Tao, and be indifferent to fame and fortune. Practice peace and quiet.
Liezi’s work is "Liezi" (including his disciples who participated in the compilation). There are 20 chapters in the old version. Liu Xiang and Liu Xin and his son in the Western Han Dynasty removed the duplications and eight chapters remain. "Hanshu. Vol. 30. "Yi Wen Zhi Ten" contains the sentence "Liu Xiang said eight chapters about Liezi. The name was imperial bandit, preceded by Zhuangzi, and Zhuangzi called it". It should be the eight chapters compiled by Liu Xiang, Liu Xin and his son, or other people at the same time. But I don’t know when it was lost.
There are no fewer than dozens of editions of "Liezi" today. Most of them have a "Preface" written by Liu Xiang or a "Preface" written by Zhang Zhan (from the Eastern Jin Dynasty) at the front of the book. The content of each edition is almost the same. There are a large number of fables, folk stories, myths and legends, etc. in the book. The purpose of the book is generally attributed to Lao and Zhuang. The modern Mr. Yang Bojun's "Collected Commentary on Liezi" cites the main commentaries of the past dynasties, and also appends "A Brief Collection of Zhang Zhan's Deeds" and prefaces by Liu Xiang, Zhang Zhan, Lu Chongxuan, Chen Jingyuan, etc., as well as Liu Zongyuan, Zhu Xi, Gao Sisun, Examination and identification of forgeries by Ye Daqing, Chen Sanli, Liang Qichao, Ma Xulun, Wu Yi Neixiong, Yang Bojun, etc.