Hanshan Deqing, Wang Fuzhi, and Lin Yunming on Zhuangzi: Impressions of Carefree Wandering

This book provides a glimpse into 17th-century Zhuāngzǐ (莊子; ca. 4th through 3rd century BCE) studies by introducing the works of Hānshān Déqīng (憨山德清; 1546-1623), Wáng Fūzhī (王夫之; 1619-1692), and Lín Yúnmíng (林雲銘; 1628-1697), which give a sense of diverse approaches to Zhuāngzǐ during this period.

The three commentators represent three distinct orientations as reflected by their respective roles, with Hānshān Déqīng being a Buddhist monk, Wáng Fūzhī a philosopher, and Lín Yúnmíng a literary critic. Their understanding of ＂carefree wandering＂ (逍遙遊) is spelled out, followed by a complete translation of the Péng-bird 鵬 passage through their eyes. The author concludes how this amounts to a conception of human flourishing.

This is the first monograph on Zhuāngzǐ studies of any of these three thinkers in English. General readers or specialists of ancient Chinese philosophy can gain insight into how Zhuāngzǐ was read in culturally relevant contexts.

John R. Williams currently teaches at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and was recently selected for the Shenzhen Peacock Talent Program. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chinese Philosophy from the National University of Singapore, where he was awarded the President’s Graduate Fellowship.