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Liezi: 1 Textual History
Liezi: 1 Textual History
For the village in King Tang of Shang (r. 1617?1588? BCE), and King
Mu of Zhou (r. 1023?983? BCE); or philosophers like
Confucius (551-479 BCE) and Yang Zhu (. ca. 350
The Liezi (Chinese: ; pinyin: Liz ; WadeGiles: BCE).
Lieh Tzu; literally: Master Lie) is a Daoist text at- The Liezi is generally considered to be the most practical
tributed to Lie Yukou, a c. 5th century BCE Hundred of the major Daoist works, compared to the philosophical
Schools of Thought philosopher, but Chinese and West- writings of Laozi and the poetic narrative of Zhuangzi.
ern scholars believe it was compiled around the 4th cen- Although the Liezi has not been extensively published in
tury CE.
the West, some passages are well known. For example,
Gengsangzi (; cf. Zhuangzi chap. 23) gives this
description of Daoist pure experience:
Textual history
My body is in accord with my mind, my
mind with my energies, my energies with my
spirit, my spirit with Nothing. Whenever the
minutest existing thing or the faintest sound
aects me, whether it is far away beyond the
eight borderlands, or close at hand between my
eyebrows and eyelashes, I am bound to know
it. However, I do not know whether I perceived it with the seven holes in my head and
my four limbs, or knew it through my heart
and belly and internal organs. It is simply selfknowledge. (chap. 4, tr. Graham 1990:77-78)
The rst two references to the Liezi book are from the
Former Han Dynasty. The editor Liu Xiang notes he
eliminated repetitions in Liezi and rearranged it into eight
chapters (pian ). The Book of Han bibliography section () says it has eight chapters () and concludes that since the Zhuangzi quotes Liezi, he must have
lived before Zhuangzi. There is a three-century historical gap until the next evidence of the Liezi: the Jin dynasty commentary by Zhang Zhan (. ca. 370
CE). Zhang's preface claims his Liezi copy was transmitted down from his grandfather. All received Liezi texts
derive from Zhang's version, which is divided into eight
chapters (juan ).
Compare the Zhuangzi saying, The Perfect Man uses
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the Liezi his mind like a mirror going after nothing, welcoming
was designated a Daoist classic, completing the trilogy nothing, responding but not storing. Therefore he can win
with the more famous Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi, and it out over things and not hurt himself.(chap. 7, tr. Watson
was honorically entitled the Chongxu zhenjing ( )
; True Classic of Simplicity and Vacuity, that is,
Classic of the Perfect Emptiness). This Simplicity and
Vacuityis Wing-tsit Chan's translation; chongxu (liter- 3 Authenticity
ally soar/young/simple empty/skies/modest) usually
means soar aloft, rise high; carefree, unburdened with
ambition. During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Liezi scholars have long recognized that it shares many
Song, the Liezi was further honored as the Chongxu zhide passages with other pre-Han texts like the Zhuangzi,
zhenjing (; True Classic of Simplicity Daodejing, and Lshi Chunqiu. Barrett (1993:298) says
opinion is divided as to whether it is an ancient work
and Vacuity and Perfect Virtue).
with later interpolations or a forgery confected from ancient sources.On the one hand, the Liezi could contain
a core of c. 400 BCE authentic writings of Lie Yukou;
2 Contents
on the other hand, it could be a c. 400 CE compilation
forged by Zhang Zhan.
The eight Liezi chapters are shown below (with the titles The Liezi is most similar with the Zhuangzi. They share
translations adapted from Graham 1960).
many characters and stories; Graham (1990:12) lists sixMost Liezi chapters are named after famous gures in teen complete episodes plus sections from others. The
Chinese mythology and history. Either sage rulers like Zhuangzi also mentions Liezi in four chapters and Lie
the Yellow Emperor (supposedly r. 2698?2599? BCE), Yukou in three. For example, this famous passage:
1
5
[Liezi] could ride the wind and go soaring
around with cool and breezy skill, but after fteen days he came back to earth. As far as
the search for good fortune went, he didn't fret
and worry. He escaped the trouble of walking,
but he still had to depend on something to get
around. If he had only mounted on the truth of
Heaven and Earth, ridden the changes of the six
breaths, and thus wandered through the boundless, then what would he have had to depend
on? Therefore I say, the Perfect Man has no
self; the Holy Man has no merit; the Sage has
no fame. (chap. 1, tr. Watson)
REFERENCES
4 Translations
There are fewer English translations of the Liezi than
other Daoist texts. The rst were partial versions; Lionel
Giles (1912) translated chapters 1-6 and 8, while Anton
Forke (1912) covered chapter 7 (Yang Zhu). As mentioned above, A.C. Graham (1960, 1990) wrote a denitive scholarly translation. A recent Liezi rendition is by
Eva Wong (2001). In 2005, the Library of Chinese Classics published a translation by Liang Xiaopeng.
5 References
Barrett, T.H. Lieh tzu ". In Michael Loewe,
ed., Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide,
pp. 298308. Berkeley: The Society for the Study
of Early China. 1993. ISBN 1-55729-043-1.
Chan Wing-Tsit. A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton, NH: Princeton University Press.
1963. ISBN 0-691-01964-9
Giles, Lionel, tr. Taoist Teachings from the Book of
Lieh-Tz. London: Wisdom of the East. 1912.
Forke, Anton, tr. Yang Chu's Garden of Pleasure.
London: Wisdom of the East. 1912. (chapter 7)
Graham, A.C. The Date and Composition of
Liehtzyy,Asia Major 8, pp. 139198. 1961.
Graham, A.C., tr. The Book of Lieh-tz: A Classic of Tao. New York: Columbia University Press.
1960, revised 1990. ISBN 0-231-07237-6
Latte, J-J, tr. Trait du vide parfait. Paris: Albin
Michel. 1997. ISBN 2-226-09426-1 (in French)
3
Wong, Eva, tr. Lieh-Tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical
Living. 2001. Boston: Shambhala. ISBN 1-57062899-8
Liang Xiaopeng, tr. Liezi. Beijing: Zhonghua
Book Company. 2005 (Library of Chinese Classics)
ISBN 7-101-04273-2/K-1816
External links
Liezi, Taoist Culture & Information Centre
Lieh Tzu, Overview of World Religions
Lieh Tzu, Ancient Landmarks
Taoist teachings from the book of Lieh Tz, Giles'
translation at Wikisource. Also available in more
formats on archive.org
Yang Chu's Garden of Pleasure, Forke's translation,
Internet Sacred Text Archive
Liezi , Chinese Text Project (in Chinese)
The Liezi from Project Gutenberg (in Chinese)
The Liezi Chapter 7, Yang Chu from Dalriada Books
(in English)
Liezi entry in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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