Zhuangzi (about 369 ~ 286), a native of Zhou and Song Dynasties (now the northeast of Shangqiu County, Henan Province), was a representative of the Taoist school in the Warring States Period, second only to Laozi. He was once an official of lacquer garden in Song Dynasty with Liang, Liu and Liu. According to legend, Zhuangzi was smart and studious since childhood. He and Hui Shi are classmates and close friends. He traveled south to Chu and Yue, learned from the past and learned from the present, and was spontaneous in Ren Zhen all his life, advocating nature, not destroying etiquette and laws, and despising princes. Chu Weiwang once gave him a generous gift, but he refused. Since then, he has retired from the Jianghu for life, weaving straw sandals for a living, passing on fables and writing more than 100,000 words.
Philosophically, Zhuangzi inherited and developed Laozi's thought, holding that "Tao" is an objective and real existence, and regarded "Tao" as the origin of all things in the universe. He said: "The truth of Tao is to cultivate one's morality. Thought thinks of the country and the country thinks of the world." (Zhuangzi Jean Wang) It means that the essence of the avenue is used for self-cultivation, its surplus is used for governing the country, and its dross is used for educating the world. He also said: "Heaven never shuts one door but he opens another, life never shuts one door, and fame never shuts one door. As the saying goes, friends are true." (Zhuangzi Qiu Shui) means, don't destroy nature for man-made reasons, don't destroy life for the past, don't die of fame and fortune for greed, and stick to heaven without losing it. This is the return to nature.
In a word, he inherited the essence of Laozi's Tao Te Ching, that is, "man is everywhere, the land is with the sky, the sky is with the Tao, and the Tao is with the nature", and advocated doing nothing and returning to nature in the way of human existence. For this reason, he sharply criticized the ceremony, law, power and power in secular society, and put forward his incisive views that "saints never die, thieves never stop" and "those who steal hooks are punished, and those who steal countries are princes". In the way of human existence, he advocates nature and the spiritual realm of "heaven and earth coexist with me, and everything and I are one", and thinks that the highest realm of life is carefree self-satisfaction. Zhuangzi's thoughts and ideas have far-reaching influence on later generations, and they are a valuable spiritual wealth in the history of human thought.
Zhuangzi's influence on later generations is not only reflected in his unique philosophical thoughts, but also in literature. His political ideas and philosophical thoughts are not dry preaching. On the contrary, they are all expressed in a vivid and fascinating way through vivid and humorous fables and Wang Yang's wanton and graceful language, which has a rock-breaking and shocking artistic appeal. If Qu Yuan's Lisao is the originator of China's romantic poetry, then Zhuangzi's article is undoubtedly the first of China's romantic prose.